Hailing from Brooklyn, Tommie Sunshine (aka Thomas Lorello) has always had an affinity for remixing some of the best music the rock genre has had to offer. Having heard his mixing skills on the third CD of the recent One Love release, I was keen to get my mitts on his latest release Ultra Rock, Remixed, where he brings us the best of those remixes. While the offering may be light on surprises, that is far from a criticism – as it contains some absolutely rock solid (pardon the pun) tracks.

Sunshine kicks off proceedings with his take on Jealous Girls by The Gossip, and it sets the scene for what is to come; namely, solid electro with a distinct rock flavour. Tony the Beat by The Sounds is an odd name for a track perhaps, but something about it – the strong resonating bass guitar, with some pretty intense almost Brit-pop sounding vocals – make for a wicked track. Although the songs do have a constant theme, any differences are mixed seamlessly by Sunshine, and he does it like a pro.

A sound that can only be described (poorly perhaps) as ‘retro meets Brit-pop meets electro with a touch of grunge’ lingers, the 80s sound resonating throughout, almost to an extent where it’s uplifting. That said, it is not uplifting in the way that we might label big-room house, for instance. This is different, and kids, it’s bloody catchy. Nowhere is it more prevalent than his remix of Here (In Your Arms) by Hellogoodbye; which he makes into an absolute cracker of a track. For all accusations that electronic music has perhaps been lacking energy or catchiness, Sunshine shows all how it’s done, bottling the passion and angst from tracks and their original vocals, and doing them justice in the remix.

The second disc continues from where the first finished, the beats pumping, with his own track Dance Among The Ruins. While it has a distinct computer game car chase feel to it, it’s right on the money. For me it was one of the absolute picks of the compilation. The fast paced frenetic stuff continues through the early part of the second disc, albeit slowing briefly for the intro of his ‘Brooklyn Fire Retouch’ of the Good Charlotte’s I Just Wanna Live. Retouch indeed, as while there was something about the original version of this song that was catchy, here Sunshine takes it to the next level. Awesome work.

His own Running From is chock full of a solid bassline and some seriously chunky electro, but it’s one of those tracks where the lyrics don’t necessarily improve the song. While that may be a tough call, the backing tune is an absolute cracker and more than makes up for it. His remix of the Let The Poison Spill From Your Throat from the Faint maintains their distinctly Brit-pop sound, but combines it with some solid bass and funky loops. It’s a similar story with Boys Wanna Be Her from Peaches; a rock sound tinged with a solid dose of electro.

Much like Jacques Le Cont has helped break down the wall between the vast array of rock subcultures and electronic music, so too has Sunshine, albeit just that little bit differently. It’s a solid result, and, just quietly, I’m excited about hearing more of Sunshine’s stuff in clubs. I’m wondering why we already don’t. A rocking [bad pun!] release.