INDIE ROCK

A great interpreter of other songwriters, Cat Power has put out her third album of cover versions—don’t confuse this one with The Covers Record from 2000. An eclectic selection of material gets a typically downbeat/sadcore treatment. You could say the record sounds largely the same throughout, but it also sounds great throughout. Track 2 reworks an earlier Cat Power song; all others are covers. The band comprises guitars, bass, keys, and drums.

FCC clean

1 * Mid-tempo. Frank Ocean’s cry of unrequited love is done a bit faster & lighter. (4:20)

2 ** A slow redo of this artist’s own “Hate,” it’s much better this time. The prior plodding pluck-strum march is fleshed out here with synths, elec guitar, and vox overdubs. (2:44)

3 ** Mid-tempo. A paean to rioting(?) by Ryan Gosling’s band Dead Man’s Bones - how’s that for obscure? Especially good singing and playing on this one. (3:10)

4 Slow. A Lana Del Rey original. Tense, tough. Elec guitar and layered vox tracks. (3:00)

5 ** Very slow. Celtic folk-rocker by the Pogues redone with (I think) an old-fashioned pump organ and spooky vox overdubs. It’s scary how beautiful this is. (3:42)

6 Very slow. Bob Seger’s country-rock ballad is unrecognizable. (3:13)

7 Very slow. An Iggy Pop tune but more melodic this time. Hypnotic bass & drum. (3:35)

8 * Slow. Jackson Browne’s great ballad of loss is done as a gentle folk song. (3:44)

9 ** Slow. A brilliant, hilarious take on Kitty Wells’s classic calling out of unfaithful husbands with a clever walking bass line and a delicious pedal steel. (2:33)

10 Nick Cave’s rocker is slowed way down to a creepy tense nightmare. (4:39)

11 Slow. Pretty rendition of a Replacements tune, accompanied mainly by piano. (5:14)

12 Very slow. 1930s pop song (sung by Bing Crosby, Sinatra, Billie Holiday, etc) done here by a smoky-voiced chanteuse with acoustic guitar and piano accompanying. (3:22)