As a quick introduction, I plan for a multi-part review of Suburban Home and Vinyl Collective's Under the Influence split series. Meant as a promotion for some of the rising stars of the modern punk and folk scenes, the series features one or two artists per record covering songs by their biggest musical influences. So far, I've enjoyed what I've heard, and have found some good artists that I most likely wouldn't have heard of had I not jumped into the series.
Quick disclaimer: Though I have a good knowledge of the original versions of most of the songs, I had been previously unfamiliar with a lot of the artists featured in the series, forcing me to take a rudimentary crash-course in each of their respective catalogues. This means that I may not grasp said artists' original acts in their entirety or how their mood works. I will make my unfamiliarities with any act known in each review just for the sake of context. Also, because there are only two songs per record, and all of the songs are decades old and have been reviewed to death by people many years my senior, these reviews will be significantly shorter than my other reviews. I really only plan to cover the quality of each recording. Boring parts over, fun parts start now.
I've always had a strange obsession with covers and Under the Influence albums. If done well, covers and UTI recordings are always fun to hear to understand where your for the novelty value of experiencing old classics played in a new and interesting style by someone who appreciates the source material. Such musical endeavors can give a new life to an old song, and serve as an aural history lesson in how music can evolve over times vis-a-vis new developments in sounds, styles, and technology.
On the flip side, covers and UTI's can be a painful experience if done badly. The problem is that there is a large difference to "enjoying" a source material, and "being influenced" by it. You can almost immediately tell the difference between the two, as "liking" a song means the artist covering enjoys it, but that particular song is not an integral part of said artist's musical development. It's like trying to point out the difference between Hendrix tearing up Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" and Britney Spears robotically bopping along to "I Can't Get No Satisfaction." One artist likes the song and can perform it well, the other has taken it as a form of their expression.
That said, there is a pretty good selection of songs in the series that I will be reviewing. Overall I have to say that there's some serious required listening for rock, punk, and folk enthusiasts who are looking for good emerging acts. Thanks to some of the tracks, I have been introduced some bands that are now working to the top of my list of favorite current performers if they weren't already. Unfortunately, there some that completely suck ass as well. This is not one of them
The first split consists of Fake Problems and Look Mexico covering "I'm a Ramblin' Man" and "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)," respectively. I'd never really heard of either of the featured bands, but I'm well-familiarized with the source material, having enjoyed Merle Haggard and Looking Glass since I was a tiny little music snob. For the most part, I feel pretty lukewarm on this record. Both covers are okay, but not anything that will grab my by the neck and drag me to the local record store.
The record starts out with Fake Problems performing "I'm a Ramblin' Man" by Merle Haggard. I didn't really know much about Fake Problems going into this one, beyond name drops on music sites. At first I didn't really like it. The instruments are played well, but the singer sounds overly-enthusiastic and goofy, sounding more like he's mocking the song or trying to distance himself from singing it with too much emotion. I realize the original song wasn't really meant to be taken seriously, but it still just bothered me how he just sang it in such a comical fashion. After inspecting some of their original material, I realize the singer sings like that for most of Fake Problem's songs, but it still bugs me. That said, the band plays the song with enthusiasm and conviction, at least lending to the fact that the band appreciates it, and I can definitely hear a large Merle Haggard influence in their original material. Overall it's a nice track that could have benefited by backing off the weirdness in the vocals a little bit.
On the flip side, Look Mexico's cover of Looking Glass's "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" is done quite well enough to the point where I actually enjoy the cover version more than the original. This is likely contributed to the fact that the song matches Mexico's sound more than Glass's, which is pretty odd. Whereas Looking Glass seemed like they released the song as a radio-friendly single, out of place with the rest of their harder-sounding catalogue, Look Mexico plays with conviction and a comfort not felt in the original. Hell, had I not known about the original song, and heard Look Mexico sing it first without any knowledge of Looking Glass's original, I would have assumed Look Mexico had been the original performer of the song. Unfortunately, though the performance is good, it's still a pretty boring song that could have benefited from a heavier bass beat to keep you going along with it.
This record is obviously meant to appeal to an indie rock taste, and it shows. With the mix of Fake Problem's Nashville hokiness and Look Mexico's ambient lounge style, it's suited more for someone who looks for something to relax around the house to, which is where it succeeds. If you want a rock or dance experience though, there's not much for you here.
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