on his 2011 album field songs, iowa troubadour william elliott whitmore documents a vanishing american landscape with all the heartfelt soul and quiet fury one could hope for. -heartland firebrand blows fuse, fights for truth- heralded spin magazine when describing whitmore, who utilizes a powerful singing voice beyond his years and a stark dramatic sound rooted in bluegrass, blues and folk protest music. these songs vividly evoke a life of struggle, humble resilience and family bond inspired by life on his familys farm along the mississippi river. whitmore has made a name for himself both within the punk movement, where his populism and sincerity resonate with alienated urban kids, and the roots community, where writers like andy downing in the chicago tribune have placed him within the -new pastoralism- of bon iver and the fleet foxes.

house heaven on 12-inch. a lofty description, but one that fits most excellent unlimited’s latest offering perfectly. in 1990, boy george and simon rogers (the fall) made a record called “generations of love” for george’s post-culture club project, jesus loves you. legendary nyc dj and producer bruce forest was one of several big names brought in to do a set of remixes, and the better days veteran got to work on several contrasting versions of the cut. the mixes heard here, done at london’s famed olympic studios, are slices of utter ecstasy for anyone who has a taste for ‘90s deep house euphoria and ambient dancefloor excursions, but were unfortunately lost amongst the countless alternate mixes. suffice to say, meu is taking matters into our own hands and has remastered and properly packaged these tracks, directly sourced from forest himself, with the full intention to give this erstwhile dollar-record the respect it deserves. the jazz mix opens with a winding piano solo by andy whitmore (spandau ballet, terence trent d’arby, soul ii soul) that lures the listener into a hypnotic groove that could quite comfortably go on forever but here is constrained by our modesty and the 12-inch format. (a tip for the adventurous dj: flipped to 33rpm the tune becomes an epic balearic chugger, a late-night psylocibic alternative for the heads.) the synth-heavy sounds of the ambient mix on the flip side harken back to the chill-out rooms of the ‘90s but twenty-some years later bring the best kind of vintage charm.