My Education

Apparently, even the most deliberate and delicate of post-rock bands need a remix now and again, as this EP shows. While this effort is not wholly essential, it still provides a lovely reminder of how My Education are coming close to being as essential in the post-rock lovers collection as Explosions in the Sky and Mono. The differences in post-rock are sometimes hard to spot due to the inherent quiet/loud structure, but My Education make their mark with varied instrumentation and a decidedly chipper attitude towards life. As for the new tracks, the title track and "Armistice Day” stand out for the reasons stated above. The latter one uses, to spectacular effect, more country-leaning instruments, like pedal steel to provide an atmosphere that is light and playful, but while also keeping the attention. The remixes here don’t go down any electronic route, but mostly screw around with the structure and mood. The most substantial tinkering is Kinski’s take on "Puppy Love,” which gets rid of any "quiet” and is pure aural assault. Really, the remixes seem superfluous, as the original tracks continue to be the stars. To be trite, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.