Monday, December 06, 2004
Nouvelle Vague offers a CD full of quirky, bossa nova-ish, somewhat lounge versions of thirteen, punk, post-punk and new wave semi-classics. It’s a great concept. They’ve peeled off what might seem like the essential aspects of each song (most everything aggressive & loud), and recast them in much more straightforward and placid musical settings (with only soft, lovely, female vocalists) that, among other things, helps to highlight some great songwriting. On the one hand, they’re turning these songs into “easy listening,” but on the other hand, they reveal new beauty and humor that was sometimes hidden in the originals, and for the most part have created a CD that is engaging and quite a lot of fun. The funniest track of all must be the Dead Kennedy’s classic “Too Drunk to Fuck,” which is so much more hilarious than even the original. P.I.L.’s “Thjs in Not a Love Song,” and the Clash’s “Guns of Brixton” also fare very extremely well. They even breathe some life back into “Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Joy Division, letting us hear this music again with new ears, and their version of The Undertones “Teenage Kicks” is simply perfection. The final track, a cover of the Specials “Friday Night Saturday Morning” is an especially wonderful way to close out the album - a funny, gorgeous dream of an album that I expect to be listening to quite a lot of over the coming months.
