Supershelter (The Remixes)

Glitterbug's debut album, like any number of full-length turns by artists primarily known for singles and DJ work, came burdened with certain expectations, most especially whether it could be a compelling listen across the length of a CD. But Supershelter, from its winsomely dark cover art to its air of restrained (but, it should be said, not minimal) flow, suggests a fully self-contained world, half video game adventure and half graphic novel. Beginning with the beatless "Intro" with fragmented piano and rhythmic demi-droning setting an off kilter mood, Supershelter kicks into gear with "Up North" but it's the soft, buried twinkles — and, with a feeling of shock when first heard, crowd cheers and shouts — which truly define the song and much of the rest of Supershelter. Steadily moving forward almost as a progression of encounters by the googly-eyed creature featured on the cover rowing across dark waters, Supershelter is much more of a sit-and-listen album than a get-up-and-dance one but is no less enjoyable for that. The near silence of moments like the short "Unforgotten," synth-winds whooshing in the background, and elegiac melodies like that which concludes the bemusingly titled "Oh My Hick!" add further to the sense of hushed loss and mood, while "Miss," with its warm feeling of a beautiful dawn, provides a gentle contrast to much of the rest of the album no matter the speed. When something more akin to straightforward beats appears, as on the concluding part of "Reference System" or the steady, early-'90s Warp Records sound of "Presence," the effect of the subtle shift can be monumental, with the ominous "We Will All Go" a suitable penultimate track.