No One Can Ever Know was a leap into unfamiliar territory for the Twilight Sad, in which they took their sound -- which had previously borrowed from post-punk and post-rock in an expansive and gloomy fashion -- in a more streamlined electronic direction that somehow managed to be even darker than what they'd done before. It was also a set of songs that felt riper for remixes than any of the band's other music. This collection makes good on that promise, offering reworkings that balance the band's original intentions with the remixers' sensibilities and range from danceable to experimental and several points in between. Notably, the artists invited to contribute to No One Can Ever Know: The Remixes honed in on a handful of songs, focusing on the singles as well as a couple of album tracks that defined the original album's dour magnetism. Fully one-third of this set consists of reworkings of the yearning standout "Sick," but even with Lithuanian producer Brokenchord contributing two versions of it (the first engulfed in jet engine synths, the second breaking the song into pieces that sparkle and bounce), there isn't much repetition. The Remixes is as well balanced as it is eclectic, finding room for tracks that clearly bear the stamp of their remixers (Com Truise's sparkly take on "Sick," which might be the album's prettiest moment, and Liars' darkly pulsing version of "Nil"), tracks that could fill a dancefloor (J.D. Twitch/Optimo's remix of "Alphabet"), and tracks that push the limits of the Twilight Sad's sound even further (the choppy percussiveness of Breton's "Nil" and Warsnare's "Not Sleeping" remixes). That the sequencing gives it a more satisfying flow than many similar sets is a nice bonus, and one that underscores how fitting it is that a collection like this from a band as searching as the Twilight Sad explores what remixes, and a remix album, can be.
© Heather Phares /TiVo