The Glimmers: Eskimo Volume V

The Glimmers
Eskimo Volume V
Eskimo
2007-10-09

Eskimo Volume V, a European mix album that samples disco, electro-pop, and world, isn’t as easily danceable as its genre span would suggest. At the helm are The Glimmers, a pair of Belgian DJs who resist the ephemeral gratification of beat-happy blitzes and brisk tempos. Their aim is more demanding: the reinvention of other performers’ work, both club-friendly and not, into dynamic compositions. They accomplish this with subtlety — like on the lightly adorned but still celebratory Motown groove of Primal Scream’s “Loaded”. And with brazen makeovers — see especially their unrecognizable mashup of LCD Soundsystem’s classic “All My Friends”. Both are bobbers, not bangers. An enthusiasm for beats does run through this collection, which is natural for a duo of DJs. But The Glimmers mete it out with little regard for formal style. From the East-West miscegenation of Dissidenten’s “Fata Morgana” to the car-ride pop strut of Patrick Coutin’s “J’aime Regarder Les Filles”, Eskimo Volume V shakes off the confines of genre and locates an artful medium of head and hips.

RATING 6 / 10