Details:
This is a bit of an odd one. It consists of eleven tracks of new Deep Elm artists doing covers of old Deep Elm artists, and one unreleased song, and I can say straight away that it’s very good. The problem is I’m not really a huge connoisseur of Deep Elm recordings. I mean, I own a few Deep Elm records, mainly Latterman who are not featured here, but not to the degree that I can really get excited at the bands covering each other. For me these cover albums work better when the listener is au fait with both or all the bands in question. So I loved the Alkaline Trio / Hot Water Music Covers and the No Idea 100 covers compilation. I don’t feel like I’m getting as much out of this for the simple reason that the songs are all pretty much new to me so I don’t know whether they’re doing the originals justice, or completely mauling them.
That said I can review the songs presented here on their own merits from an unbiased standpoint, and I am on the whole impressed. There is a level of quality consistent through the album which is rare with compilations, although obviously some songs do fall somewhat above or below that line. There’s also a pleasing variety of artists here, showcasing the versatility of both the current and older Deep Elm roster. There are a number of standouts here. Slowride performing Fishing for the Sky by The Appleseed Cast is full of dust blown steel guitar and throbbing bass, and the Settlefish version of Last Days of April’s Will the Violins be Playing? Is a typically understated epic. Lock and Key’s Blindspot by Brandston is all buzzsaw guitars and punk rock vocals, with a definite Small Brown Bike feel and Desert City Soundtrack put in a stunning rendition of Marigold & Patchwork by The Appleseed Cast, over six minutes of feedback and piano. Even the Fightstar track (The Days I Recall Being Wonderful by Last Days of April) isn’t half bad. The unreleased non cover Sounds Like Violence song is probably the weakest on the CD, but it’s at the end so that doesn’t really matter. Finally, I have no idea who the bonus 13th track is by, but it made me chuckle.
If you’re a Deep Elm fanboy then you’ve probably already made your mind up. If you’re not, and you happen across a copy, then I’d recommend giving it a whirl. It’s certainly added a couple of bands to my “must listen to” list.
Listen: www.myspace.com/deepelm
Tracklist:
1. Desert City Soundtrack performs "Marigold & Patchwork" by Appleseed Cast
2. Small Arms Dealer performs "Today I Discovered The World" by Cross My Heart
3. Clair De Lune performs "Angel On Hiatus" by Benton Falls
4. Fightstar performs "The Days I Recall Being Wonderful" by Last Days Of April
5. Lock And Key performs "Blindspot" by Brandtson
6. Eleven Minutes Away performs "Hollowed-Out" by Camber
7. Free Diamonds performs "Go Teens" by Muckafurgason
8. Surrounded performs "Coming From The Cold" by Starmarket
9. Slowride (Dan Phillips) performs "Fishing The Sky" by Appleseed Cast
10. Burns Out Bright performs "This Guy’s Ready For Bed" by Pop Unknown
11. Settlefish performs "Will The Violins Be Playing?" by Last Days Of April
12. Sounds Like Violence "No One Knows What We’ve Got"
13. Nathaniel Sutton performs "Deep Elm Is A Friend Of Mine"
