Doused in Mud, Soaked in Bleach : A Tribute to Nirvana

It's Record Store Day, since I haven't bought a physical album in 5 years, I'll at least review one that the few thousand of so of you who do might be thinking about purchasing. This is third and final Nirvana tribute from Robotic Empire takes on the debut album "Bleach" which was Nirvana's heaviest and darkest. Thou takes a blackened stab at "Floyd the Barber" which was the first Nirvana song I ever heard. The vocals are really the only change here as it's hard to make this one any heavier than it already was. Grind-coring it out would have not been a wise choice as it would have ruined the song's initial intentions. Philly rockers Beach Slang, do "About a Girl" justice, but it sounds like the Foo-Fighters covering it do to the singer's vocal range/inflections.

Boston's Basement rocks out a convincing version of  "School", one thing about album's like these I like is it gives you the chance to check out some bands that you might not have heard otherwise. One of the more mainstream band's on here is Circa Survive who cover "Love Buzz" . My band in high school also covered this song so it has a soft spot in my black heart. I think at 16 I prolly sang it in a similar tenor. Musically they ape this one almost too close for me to hear them as a band, though their emo Yes thing is toned down here and haven't listened to this band in about a decade. This Will Destroy You are not really an underground band any more, though the are closer to being than than post- My Space Circa Survive. They wised up an didn't try to make this just an instrumental or get too post- rock with it. The vocal sound like they weren't mic'ed but picked up on one of the drum mics as they recorded it. They come too close to being too hip for their own good here, but it all manages to work out at the end of the seven minutes.

Young Widows , who I have confused with True Widow more than once throw their instruments into "Negative Creep" and come across like Sonic Youth making some kind of drunken joke. The fun and games doesn't end their as Mean Jeans goes a smirking rendition of "Scoff". I suppose the irony in them scoffing at the song should not be lost.  Rob Crow from Pinback of course kills "Swap Meet".  Last year Crow said that he was quitting music so I guess not and can begin this is the gateway drug to another Pinback record. One band I'll gladly sacrifice in order to retain Rob Crow is Fall of Troy who covers "Mr Moustache". They have the right energy for this, but don't really bring much personality to the table. Speaking of energy there is a deficit of that in Big Hush's take on "Sifting" . Daughters come back and redeem this album with their on point version of "Big Cheese", which hits the right balance between being true to themselves and capturing the song. The Saddest Landscapes is more of themselves and less like Nirvana on "Downer'. Overall this album hits more than it misses, though some of these flubs I wouldn't want to listen to more than once, But I'll give this an 8.5 .


10.8
 

Ryan Adams : " 1989"

So it's time for me to come out of the closet about my Taylor Swift addiction if you have not already read about it on here. CHVRCHES served as a methadone to help me taper off, but here is an album to finish the job. Why do I listen to Taylor  Swift? Well after spending anywhere from six to eight hours listening to death metal and blackenedsludgecore, I need a palate cleanser. How can I really appreciate something heavy if that is all I listen to? And if that was all I listened to on my way out into the world I would be like the Hulk in my daily interactions. So it's like a reverse catharsis. It helps put on the Patrick Bateman like skin where I pretend to be normal, which makes perfect sense why he was really into Whitney Houston. My wife doesn't like Taylor Swift, she is banned from being played in the car, but this album is totally acceptable. Ryan Adams who also must be a pretty big fan as well as a metal head...just look up his cover of "Holy Diver", made a bold move in covering Swift's "1989" in its entirety and the results are pretty great.

While it depends on the song there are some of these covers I like better than the originals. I considered "Welcome to New York" more of a fast forward classic in it's original form, but now it carries an impassioned jangle that falls somewhere between classic Springsteen and Mellancamp. In the case of "Blank Space" the bar was raised pretty high, so his more subdued acoustic take on "Blank Space" might leave fans of the original slightly wanting until they get used to it. He blows the fucking roof off of "Style", it really drives and has more dynamics and emotional power than the original. This is the first time I notice where he changes the gender in the lyrics.



"Out of the Woods" is one of the songs where I didn't listen to the original as much so he had more of a clean slate to work with. But being that it was not one of the strongest songs on the original album the same can be said here. The song does pick up into a dreamier indie rock sound. Adams vocal arrangement surpasses the original again on "Stay" . He sings in higher register that emotes even better than than Swift's approach. He runs into a similar challenge with "Shake It Off" that he had with "Blank Space". He goes an almost "I'm On Fire' route with this version, which has a more restrained steam to it. He triumphs again with " I Wish You Would" opening the song with a more reserved vocal and acoustic strum , but builds the song at pretty much the same point the original also explodes. He soars into the melodies that follow this build and breaks it back down when called for. His phrasing is impeccable. "Bad Blood" was another tall order , but this time his take on it knocks it out of the park.

He is not too far from the original on "Wildest Dreams".  The chorus doesn't float away like Swifts , but maintains more of an Neil Young meets Fleetwood Mac like swing to it. I'm not sure about saying she is handsome as hell, but whatever. I have less of an investment in " How You Get the Girl' than most the album, so I was pretty open to the reinterpretation here. It's more somber. Adams really has to be applauded for pouring so much feeling into his vocal performance here. He  offer a delicate take on "This Love" , but it's hard to get the chorus of Swift's version out of my head. The oh oh oh's are a pretty important part he doesn't supplement this minimalist arrangement with.

He does well with " I Know Places" letting a bass line lead the song in and layering it with some chilling guitar. He surpasses Swift's version with his arrangement of "Clean". His more Americana flavored vocals are welcome on this song which only shows hints that Swift got her start as a country artist before totally crossing over. It goes without saying this one gets a 10.