Pitchfork

OK, now I remember who Matthew Dear reminds me of! The Detroit-weaned tech-house wiz's continuing embrace of pop vocals on his Pitchfork-recommended Asa Breed didn't have the steamy warmth or cooing vocals of London electro-pop romantics Hot Chip, but the impulse-- that pop still has more to learn from minimal techno-- was similar. On the album, "Don and Sherri" at first struck me as one of the least likely candidates for a Hot Chip remix, because its electronic blips are already woozy, and its lyrics-- "My name doesn't change very often, but it's never been Don and Sherri"-- seemed too caustically funny to benefit from their love-robot embrace.

Never turn down a hug from Hot Chip. "Don and Sherri (Hot Chip Remix)" is more a cover than a remix, spaced out over a spare beat and incandescently lit by burbling keyboards. Dear's dandyish croon gives way to Hot Chip singer Joe Goddard, still multi-tracked but now fragile rather than imperious. It's now more obvious than ever that "Don and Sherri", whoever its title characters are, is a song about failures of memory and communication within a romantic relationship. Thought I knew this one already, but this remix I don't plan to forget. Name's Deer Tick or something, right?