(BMG)

Better World (Radio edit) 3.17
Better World (Infusion Mix) 8.44
Better World (Adam Freeland Mix) 6.39
Better World (Wink Interpretation) 8.56
Do To You (In ‘82) 7.50

‘Better World’ is the second single to be lifted from Australian electronic trio Infusion’s huge-anticipated second album ‘Six Feet Above Yesterday’, following relatively hot on the heels of well-received first single ‘Girls Can Be Cruel.’ Upon its initial release, ‘Girls Can Be Cruel’ had some listeners scratching their heads upon first listening, as it represented a move away from progressive sounds towards guitar-inflected synthetic pop, reflecting the group’s move away from ‘standard dance tracks’ on much of their new album.

Like ‘Girls can Be Cruel’, this latest single ‘Better World’ inhabits similar New Wave-tinged vocal-pop terrain, with Manuel Sharrad’s phased vocal calling to mind Depeche Mode’s David Gahan over a backing of overdriven synth guitar chords and clanking industrial hits – there’s also a discernible slight political tinge to the lyrics; “you push us down on the way the make a better world”, that wasn’t really noticeably present in Infusion’s music before. Stylistically in many ways it also represents a direct continuation on from this previous single in that the radio edit version doesn’t immediately seem like a track you necessarily could drop on a packed dancefloor – it’s up to the brace of excellent remixes included here to see to that.

On their ‘Infusion Mix’ Stevens, Xavier and Sharrad retool ‘Better World’ for the dancefloor, placing a streamlined progressive house backing below ominous sliding washes of sound and buzzing bass synths, while fragments of Sharrad’s vocal flit ghost-like through the mix – fans of the likes of Dark Alley and Luke Chable are going to simply drool as it builds to enormous levels around Sharrad’s delayed-out spectral vocals and relentless beats. Adam Freeland places some cowbell-infused breakbeats underneath Sharrad’s looped and cut-up vocal and tosses in some liberal rock-guitar riffery ala compatriots Evil Nine that’s likely to divide breaks fans depending on which side they sit of the ‘rocky breaks’ debate, while Josh Wink’s reworking gets minimal on the original, with icy electrofunk analogue synths tracing their way over a crisp backing of house beats and some spectral dubbed-out vocal phrases – there’s also some neat 303 acid action during the breakdown that sits perfectly alongside the flanging bleeps and flurries of guitar.

In addition to these mixes, this CD single also includes previously-released 12” track ‘Do To You (In ‘82) , which represents a fairly sought-after item in itself, as the original 12” is now deleted and it also doesn’t appear on ‘Six Feet Above Yesterday.’ Built around the track ‘Do To You’ by eighties Australian synth-pop act The Machinations (perhaps indicating the sorts of listening going on in the Infusion camp whilst constructing their new album), it combines a punching four-on-the-floor progressive house beat with Sharrad’s treated and phased pop vocal, multitracked against the original sampled Machinations vocal in such a way that calls to mind a meeting between slinky Prince robo-funk and the sort of hyper-polished progressive textures generated by the likes of Junkie XL or Sasha – wicked stuff, indeed.

Another strong single to be lifted from Infusion’s forthcoming second album, with the presence of a rare non-album track and some solid remixes adding to the desirability of this package – progressive fiends also won’t want to sleep on the storming Infusion mix of ‘Better World’, which for my money is the absolute standout moment here. Recommended.

Check out: http://www.infusion.net.au