Various

Modern Wild Dub is the successor to the Wild Dub compilation on Select Cuts released only months ago. Everyone who relishes the death disco revival of the moment should jump on this, although few of these tracks are previously unreleased. While there are enough cool tracks that point forward and respectfully backwards to make it a satisfying listen, it's hard to shake the influences that begat each and every one of these tracks. All the retrofitted tunes are pointless: remixes of James Chance and the Ruts do nothing to improve on the ragged glory of the originals, and Chicks on Speed’s pointless "Wordy Rappinghood" is one cover version that never needed to be made — Mariah Carey did a better job with "Genius of Love.” On the other hand, the out and out dub tracks are mostly satisfying. Colder's "One Night in Tokyo,” Chicken Lips’ "Boil in the Bag” and Playgroup's "Surface to Air,” which cadges a Keith Hudson bass line, are heavy and spiky. Two contributions by Radio 4 crank up the guitars and don't lose the groove, raising the energy level. The standout track of the comp is !!!'s "Me & Giuliani Down by the Schoolyard,” a nine-minute epic of early U2 guitars, cowbells, insolent vocals and inventive structure. Between this track and LCD Soundsystem, the nexus of beats, guitars, and tuneless vocals that made the original "movement" worth reviving are achieved.