Mesh - How Long?

'How Long?' is Mesh's second and probably last single release from their last album 'A Perfect Solution' from 2009. "How Long?" is by all means a great pop song and together with Mesh's even more radio friendly sound they introduced with the last album, I can't see any reason for this to be a hit even outside the electronic genre.

The title track "How Long?" is in three different versions on this single. First of we have the "Radio Version" which is pretty much like the original and also an "Extended Version" and you all understand what that is, more of the same. There's also a six minutes "Full Duration Club Version" and it got hard and danceable beats directly pitched against the rivetheads and electroheads. Gone are the cozy guitars and it has been replaced with some pretty cool lines instead. Still, it sometimes feel a bit like they tried a bit too hard to make it dance floor friendly, but I do like that they made something for the people that want to get lost in the smoke and lights of the midnight club floors.

The B-side of this single is called "Save Everyone" and this one I really like. This is true Mesh for me, like when I learned to love them back in the end of the 90's and the beginning of this century. Much darker than the title track and I you can really hear the soul in this.

There's also an "Alternative Version" of the B-side of the Limited Edition of 'A Perfect Solution' called "Hold & Restrain". Since I haven't heard the Limited Edition of the album, I can't compare it to this version, but it's like a middle ground between the poppy "How Long?" and the darker "Save Everyone". Good song with a melancholic verse and a more poppy uplifting chorus.

So, should you buy this single if you bought 'A Perfect Solution'? Yes, I think you should. At least to be able to hear "Save Everyone" and "Hold & Restrain", as well as to be able to get in the go out mood with the "Club Version" of "How Long?". Jul 21 2010