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Curiously the best remixes here aren't necessarily those of your favorite tracks or artists—my pick is Book of Love's "Boy" by DJ Irene—and the biggest challenge was to be able to transcend 80's electro anthems with 21st century electronic sounds, which unfortunately doesn't always work. Listen to the new mixes of electro pioneers Depeche Mode and New Order, and you will notice that none of the guests is up to challenge, even Crystal Method fails to rejuvenate "Bizarre Love Triangle" aside from the easy insertion of big beats—you get a decent muscled-up New Order song but nothing more. While new takes on B-Movie, Alphaville and Morrissey fall flat or don't go anywhere, Future Retro hits the mark when it changes the sound of the originals, rather than just upgrading it. A menacing version of Echo & The Bunnymen's "Lips Like Sugar", a dancefloor variation of INXS' "Need You Tonight" (the real INXS not that ersatz 2005 TV show) and a hardly recognizable reworking of GrandMaster Flash's "White Lines" are the most interesting entries here along more classically techno takes on Yaz's "Situation", Devo's "Girl U Want" and Cure's "The Walk". As stated in the Producer's notes, there would certainly be a need for a Future Retro 2 that could include other major 80's acts, from Simple Minds to Siouxsie and the Banshees, which could be remixed by electro-wiz du jour, Jacques Lu Cont. Despite a few disappointments, Future Retro is a good soundtrack for all of us caught between modernism and nostalgia.
 
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