The Noisettes kick off the comp with a 60's girl band on Electronica cover of The Buzzcocks' "Ever Fallen in Love With Someone You Shouldn't Have Fallen in Love With." Dam-Funk delivers a pretty straightforward rendition of Human League's "Things That Dreams Are Made Of." The electronic elements are more pronounced with a faint Funk undertone as their name might suggest. Duke Spirit's take on Sham 69's "If The Kid's Are United" is almost Avant Guard when compared to the original. The ethereal, breathy, Nico-esque vocals and slowed tempo easily made this one of my favorite tracks on the comp. Buraka Som Sistema have completely re-imagined Neneh Cherry's "Buffalo Stance," and the result is wonderful. There are so many musical styles and influences going on here: think Scratch meets Prog-Kuduro. The Cinematic Orchestra give a breathtaking version of James Shelton's classic, "Lilac Wine." It's better than the Buckley cover. Buckley enthusiasts will likely despise me for saying such a thing, I know this because I too am a Buckley enthusiast and despise myself a bit for thinking it. But seriously, what would you say about a song that resurrected Nina Simone and you could almost hear the smoke in the air? Black Motorcycle Club visit Ewan MacColl's oft covered "Dirty Old Town." Acoustic, and keeping with the vision of MacColl's critique of the post industrial world...dreary, bitter, and beautiful. N.A.S.A.'s take on Max Romeo and the Upsetters' "Chase the Devil" was a bit too electronic for my tastes. Maybe that was the point and I missed it. Maybe it was the auto-tune. The Raveonettes rise to the occasion with a dark and wispy cover of The Stone Roses' "I Wanna Be Adored" sans the long cumbersome intro. Michael Davis of The MC5 pairs up with D.O.A. to deliver an up tempo cover of Cold War Kid's "Something Is Not Right With Me." I love covers that seem like they should be the other way around, like when Johnny Cash covered Nine Inch Nails. I'm not sure if that's humility, but it seems humble and progressive to me. Verbal + Yoon wrap up the celebration with a mid-90's Riot Grrrl version of The Runaways' "Cherry Bomb," as if to acknowledge the 3rd wave feminist movement the Runaways likely inspired.
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