covers

A couple of covers I’m really loving at the moment.

Florence + The Machine – Postcards From Italy
The Books ft. Jose Gonzalez – Cello Song

You know I’m not sure about the Florence cover of the big Beirut number.  I love it, sure — the way her voice fits into the song in a totally different way than Condon’s; how it brings out the ephemeral, lovelorn quality of the song; the way the voice plays out the trumpets in the unsung measures; the power of the vocals alone; etc. but I feel like the horn fanfare “bust” at the end is so essential to the song and when it doesn’t come in this version, the sound of her voice changing pitch there is a bit, I don’t know, cringing.  I want the bust; I crave the bust; etc.  Just give me something new musically.  A second ukelele or a guitar strum, anything.

(In other news I’m not sure if the Florence LP will stick with me — I’ve only heard it a couple of times and the single is pretty dancey and fun but I don’t know if the thing has any staying power.)

So the cover of Nick Drake’s “Cello Song” is pretty incredible, especially because The Books and Gonzalez seem to owe a lot to Mr. Drake.  In a way I feel like The Books are pretty much a contemporary version of Nick Drake — the driving force or spirit of their music seems to be caught on the same track and headed for the same destination.  The boxcars have all been repainted and the technology of the engines has changed, of course, but the general purpose is churning along with the same noise and energy and what have you — it’s sort of weird and on paper it doesn’t seem like its worth any special attention but when you actually listen the magic happens.  Long story short this is the perfect band (and, to a lesser extent, ft.) to cover this song.