The best present I received this Christmas did not come from family or friends (note: the few friends I still possess do not trade Christmas presents with me, we understand that the sharing of gifts only leads to inevitable disappointment, so don't bother). It came instead from Simon & Julia Indelicate.
The crowd-funding campaign for their last album (the excellent Juniverbrechter, my favourite album of 2017) came with an option to choose your own song for Simon & Julia to cover. Being perpetually skint, I couldn't afford that option myself, but plenty of fans did, and the results were mailed out to us all on Christmas Eve.
27 tracks in total, and no rushed, half-arsed covers to be found here... Julia and Simon have taken their time with each of these, drawing on their full range of influences: from indie guitar pop to Betrolt Brecht, classic Country & Western to electro-pop, Jim Steinman to music hall. The choice of covers is equally eclectic, from Altered Images to Iron Maiden, George Strait to Carter USM, the Kinks to the Buffy musical episode soundtrack.
The album is a heap of fun, and not just for hardcore Indelicates fans like myself. Some of the covers are surprisingly faithful (their version of Little Baby Nothing by the Manics reminded me how much I loved the original) while others veer off on crazy tangents (their sleazy, double bass reading of EMF's Unbelievable is a hoot... and helped me hear the lyrics of that tune for the first time ever). Even the selections Simon & Julia weren't particularly fond of (Muse, The Libertines) are treated with surprising respect, and the collection also introduced me to at least one band I'd never heard of before, Young Galaxy: further investigation required.
The great thing is, because the whole album was recorded as a not-for-profit reward, the band are happy for me to share it with you. Here's Julia to explain...
We hope you enjoy these records. Obviously, we don’t own any of the copyrights so we can’t really upload them anywhere else – but do feel free to do whatever you want in terms of sharing them.
Happy to oblige.
Also, if you enjoy these recordings, we’d love it if you could let us and the world know on your social media platform of choice.
Follow this link to download the album and enjoy.
Full track-listing below. It's hard for me to pick a favourite, but their version of Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter has me grinning from ear to ear.
1. Introduction
2. Little Baby Nothing (Manic Street Preachers)
3. Red Right Hand (Nick Cave)
4. Youth Is Wasted On The Young (Young Galaxy)
5. England (Carter USM)
6. Amarillo By Morning (George Strait)
7. Girlfriend Is Better (Talking Heads)
8. A Book Of The Seven Seals (The Indelicates)
9. The Guns Of Brixton (The Clash)
10. Complexity (Sparkwood and 21)
11. Pinky Blue (Altered Images)
12. England Swings (Roger Miller)
13. Unbelievable (E.M.F.)
14. Tonight The Streets Are Ours (Richard Hawley)
15. Dead Man’s Gun (Ashtar Command – Red Dead Redemption soundtrack)
16. O Song (Augie March)
17. Climbing Up To The Moon (Eels)
18. Wichita Lineman (Glen Campbell)
19. Alcohol (The Kinks)
20. Up The Wolves (The Mountain Goats)
21. She Thinks His Name Was John (Reba McEntire)
22. Walk Through The Fire (The Buffy Soundtrack)
23. Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter (Iron Maiden)
24. Time For Heroes (The Libertines)
25. Starlight (Muse)
+
26. Little Baby Nothing (live bonus track)
27. Amarillo By Morning (live bonus track)
If you like what you hear, you can find much more from The Indelicates at their website.
Anyone who covers a song by Dod "The God" Strait gets my vote!
ReplyDeleteWell this looks interesting. Downloaded, thanks Rol.
ReplyDeleteIf the taste of their fans is any indication, this duo must be worth investigating. Not too many duff choices here.
ReplyDelete