It takes a true chemist to mold a good remix. More than laying a bombastic, overbearing house beat on top of a track, the key to resuscitating the sometimes-tired electronica genre is balance. The gritty backroom distortions and new funk gilded on DFA Remixes Chapter 2 finally breathe fresh air into this Ecstasy-laced music pool.

Without spreading the producers too thin, the album elucidates different aspects of each song by giving select tastes of various instruments. The comp's producers excel at layering each of the eight tracks. Welcoming a wide range of artists, DFA pays due respect to standard electronic acts like Goldfrapp but also leave the door open for mid-'90s hard rockers Nine Inch Nails.

Opening the album is a slow Vangelis-esque intro to Tiga's "Far From Home," with simple high-hat snare repetition highlighting the sparse lyrics. Pushing just past 10 minutes, the only ballsy section ends the track with fat, synthesized notes and arpeggios that belong in Kayne's "The New Workout Plan."

As a strict dance and party collection Chapter 2 peaks and falls. The Junior Senior track "Shake Your Coconuts" blasts clean cowbell into a detective-show bassline that smooths the background's distorted guitar flashes. The Chromeo addition "Destination Overdrive" gives Chapter 2 a much-needed quickie after DFA almost rots the other tracks with over-extended Daft-Punk-style repetitions.

The biggest let down is the remix of Nine Inch Nails' "The Hand that Feeds." Their demonization of President Bush is muted by overambitious guitar riffs and unappealing beats.

Since most of the DFA mixes extend past the length of the original, it's hard for the producers to sustain the energy past the initial buildup. Tracks like U.N.K.L.E.'s "In a State" fall short of their potential: They only suspend where they expound on the power shown in other mixes.

Similar to the duo's previous ventures, the tone of Chapter 2 has a 1970s aesthetic with nods to the blossoming punk-rock scene and the fading disco era. Producers James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy meld their indie-rock roots to change the approach to electronic music, certainly a commendable innovation.

The album's biggest highlight is N.E.R.D's "She Wants to Move." DFA takes out the pounding guitar loop and couples a bouncing bass with simple synthesizers, claps and an easy drum beat. The remix rips open the heart of the original and douses it with a synth-rock flame, plus it succeeds in downplaying Pharrell's ego.

With the exception of the remix of Hot Chip's "Colours" - five minutes too long and nothing but a weak orgasm - the album as a whole breaks the mold of a standard compilation.

DFA is at the apex of the blend-electronica movement. By taking Mylo's core of digital beats and then infusing their own shit-in-a-garbage-can-and-turn-it-up-to-11 mantra, they make Chapter 2 something worthy of the grind date.

Rating: 3 and 1/2 out of 5

DFA Remixes Chapter 2
Various Artists
Astralworks