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The story of The Submarines isn’t one that has played out as the typical cliché. John Dragonetti and Blake Hazard were solo artists in Boston who were introduced together by a mutual friend. Their four-year relationship ended after they moved to Los Angeles.
Dragonetti and Hazard got back together and later married, and the separate songs they made of their past relationship and break-up became the foundation of their first album Declare a New State. The band’s sophomore album Honeysuckle Weeks was released in 2008 to much applause and acclaim.
On both of their albums, The Submarines fill the air with calming, lovely, and infectious indie pop. Many artists and bands liked their music so much that they remixed their songs.
Honeysuckle Remixes EP is a master collection of some of those remixes that is only available at their live shows. It is broken down into two smaller and separate EPs (Part 1 and Part 2) and available through iTunes.
The most interesting thing about the remixed tracks is that neither of The Submarines’ songs is dramatically different. Each artist and band loved the duo’s core sound and didn’t alter it too much in order to preserve Hazard’s gentle voice.
There are four pairs of duplicate tracks to provide comparing and contrasting styles of each artist. “1940” is given diverging approaches, with AmpLive putting a hip-hop spin divided by harsh static chords intervals and The Section Quartet presenting it with a slight haunting and urgent tone. “You, Me & The Bourgeoisie” is given similar liberties, with Tonetiger putting a pseudo reggae beat on the upbeat number and Alaska In Winter offering a more electronic and techno remix.
Morgan Page and Free The Robots have comparable remixes of “Brightest Hour,” but Page fills his with thin heavenly atmosphere while FTR’s version is a more minimalist take. Wallpaper provides a disco-filled techno spin on “Sub Symphonika” and Ra Ra Riot gives its version a simple carousel-like melody.
Styrofoam rounds out the EP with a techno version of “Xavia.” The Submarines are a fun duo, and the latest compilation allows listeners to hear interesting differing takes on their music.
