Join Last.fm or log in to leave a shout for mikethumphreys.
-
mikethumphreys
Considered me enchanted by the allure of Lana Del Rey... very different from my usual listens... but she has an incredibly addictive tone that is fascinating...
Actions
-
mikethumphreys
Chew Lips 'Unicorn' is a superb album, and even though I played it to death in 2011 it still sounds fresh today. Can't wait for the next Chew Lips chapter... criminally overlooked!
Actions
-
mikethumphreys
Lonesome Tonight - Another's Blood. Very melodic and again more intense than the original. Very M83. This interpretation actually hints at potential for a White Lies or Hurts cover.... just occurred to me that they could make an interesting take on this. If you didn't know the track before you would be hard pushed to say that it was a New Order track... efficient & effective.
Actions
-
mikethumphreys
Cries and Whispers - Lonelady. Faithful in your face female interpretation. Good pace. Really attacks it, and comes across as a bit of an Indie queen interpretation. Think Little Boots meets Siouxsie & the Banshees, with a hint of The Bangles... (yeah I know a strange mix... but it curiously works. Definitely where these covers have been attempted with a real gusto they end uop pulling them off and making the tracks their own. Good attempt.
Actions
-
mikethumphreys
The Beach - Zombie Zombie. Kicks in with the familiar Blue Monday beats. Deeper synths and a small tempo shift make this end up sounding like a remix, until the vocals cut across and completely ruin it. As an instrumental great. Again... nice try, but ultimately a failure.
Actions
-
mikethumphreys
Now onto the Blue Monday / The Beach covers.... Blue Monday - Biosphere. Almost impossible to cover. Starts with electronic vocals. Then into the familiar tune and then German-esque, almost Oblique (Greek synth) vocals. Great if you like that pan-European feel mastered by Propaganda back in the day. Biosphere don't master it and it just feels like a Euro girl reading the words off a card. No emotion. Now that may be the intention, but it just doesn't work... Musically it has most of the familiar cuts and breaks, choral echoes and basslines. Brave, but ultimately failed.
Actions
-
mikethumphreys
In summary? Leave Me Alone, Your Silent Face, 586 & Age of Consent are admirable re-interpretations. Rest either detract to far from the originals or don't add anything new. Overall the Power Corruption & Lies album covers scores 5/10.
Actions
-
mikethumphreys
Leave Me Alone - Destroyer. Guitar and bass full on. Faithful interpretation, with that harder edge that has been lacking from some of the other interpretation... then the vocals kick in like... The Dream Academy (Life in a Northern Town)... didn't expect that. In fact it owes quite a bit to M83 on reflection... Good cover.
Actions
-
mikethumphreys
Ecstasy - Walls. Electronic repetition again to start for the first 40 seconds, with hints of the overall interspersed through the next 40. Before the first change introduces the disguised main melody. Always thought the original sounded like something John Carpenter would have concocted for one of his films and their is still that hint here, but in a more sanitised form. 3 minutes in and you've pretty much had the same until another change up momentarily changes the pace. Doesn't really go anywhere - so a bit of a missed opportunity. Harder more Carpenter-esque would have been more interesting.
Actions
-
mikethumphreys
Ultraviolence - Seekae Starting with speech over a reverb... trying for a poor "West End Girls" type intro. Into pulsing beat that, once again, disguises the source material. Whispered vocals don't cut it. Completely reworked from the original, but just ends up repetitive and uninteresting. Weakest so far.
Actions
-
mikethumphreys
Your Silent Face - Fujiya & Miyagi. Tall order. This is - for me - the classic track on this album. It starts completely differently, pared back and almost "Messages" like. Then the synths kick in and it's a really faithful version of the originals melody. Vocals are more like the Psychedelic Furs does New Order... and actually recalls vocals on a Brat pack movie song "I Go Crazy' by Flesh for Lulu... (Some Kind of Wonderful). Not the car crash I was expecting. From 4:16 onwards it makes an interesting variation on ways of playing the familiar melody. U2-esque (think The Fly), moving into Love n' Rockets territory through Ladytron.
Actions
-
mikethumphreys
586 - S.C.U.M Highly rated newcomers... Really slow build that disguises the original before the deep synths cut in and then the electronic bass line reverberates through the track to give it the hard edge that made the original a stand out. Vocals could have more an edge to them, but S.C.U.M definitely try to make the track their own. Hooked by the 4:20 mark. Impressive.
Actions
-
mikethumphreys
The Village - Errors. Again the synth interpretation owes a lot to OMD rather than New Order. The interpretation has lost a lot of the urgency of the original. Melodic and fairly faithful, although slowed down, cover. Pleasant but not earth shattering.
Actions
-
mikethumphreys
Tarwater - We All Stand. Adds nothing new. No real standout interpretations. Bland really.
Actions
-
mikethumphreys
Age of Consent - The Golden Filter. Slowed down. Airy synths which when you get to the melody ends up sounding more like OMD circa "Junk Culture". could be a grower. Certainly a different interpretation.
Actions
-
mikethumphreys
Listening to the MOJO presents Power Corruption & Lies Covered CD. Modern interpretations of a New Order classic... gonna shout out my first impressions...
Actions
-
mikethumphreys
Anna Nalick... exceptionally gifted US Singer/songwriter... anonymous in UK... shame... really does SHINE!
Actions
-