The new EP by Boston’s 5ive sees the reissue of two pieces originally released on a split 12” with Kid 606, bundled with two new Justin Broadrick remixes. Granted the cover art is pretty gross but most of the music contained within is of the topmost quality.
The two pieces from the VS split with Kid606 make up the backbone of Versus. Both “Soma” and “Reso-I” are fantastic tracks. For the uninitiated, 5ive are a two piece instrumental band. With just guitar and drums they build up some of the most exciting music. These two pieces highlight 5ive’s talents. Ben Carr’s guitars are thickly layered without the sound becoming mushy. The distortion he gets out of his amp, especially on “Reso-I,” makes his riffing sound like balls of flame. Charlie Harrold’s drumming complements the guitar playing exceptionally; these are two musicians that are well in tune with each other. The best thing about the duo is that even though the songs are longish, they know when the piece has gone far enough and stop.
Broadrick adds his distinctive touch to two remixes of “Soma.” The first one acts as a short intro to Versus. It is radically different to the original mix; the huge rocking vibes from 5ive are replaced with Broadrick’s fragile shimmer. It’s a run of the mill mix for Broadrick and its brevity stops it going anywhere. The second remix is much better. 5ive may as well not be on the track as it is pure Broadrick. This could sit easily on a Jesu release. A slow drum beat, a simple guitar melody and those gorgeous synthesisers that Broadrick uses make this a stunning reconstruction of “Soma.”
This EP isn’t essential if you own the Kid 606 split. However, for me it is a better purchase because I don’t particularly like Kid 606 so having those two tracks along with one great remix (and one superfluous remix) on a separate CD is my preference.
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