popwreckoning

Eric Bachmann, make up your mind, is it forfeit or fortune? Are you making a pop album? A freak folk album? An Eastern European-influenced album? Do you or do you not have an accent? Neil Diamond!?!?

Albums like The Clash’s London Calling and more recently My Morning Jacket’s Evil Urges managed to be eclectic without sacrificing consistency or coherence. Forfeit/Fortune is an eclectic album that fails where those bands succeeded, principally because Crooked Fingers isn’t always that good at some of the styles they attempt. Sure, their attempt at Espers-esque freak folk in “Luisa’s Bones” is an interesting way to follow Bowie-via-Springsteen opener “What Never Comes,” but who cares when it’s not nearly as good?

Crooked Fingers’ attempt at the multitude of styles on F/F is admirable but without compelling compositions nor a strong overriding voice holding it all together, F/F doesn’t work. Within the murk are gems like “Cannibals” and the beautiful closer “Your Control” (featuring Neko Case who’s beyond good, as always) but you have to wade through boring numbers like the overwrought “Let’s Not Pretend (To Be New Men)” to get to them. And then in the middle of it all is “Run, Lieutenant, Run,” a quiet, folksy number where Bachmann pretends he’s Neil Diamond (and he’s almost as good as this guy) for one-and-a-half minutes. It’s one of F/F’s best songs…until some weird Spanish bit comes out of nowhere for the last minute. And then the song’s done. Yes: WTF indeed.

The album’s not bad; it’s just significantly more interesting than it is actually good. Of course the album’s supporters (and every album has them) will defend it by saying “you just don’t get it.” Perhaps, but who’s writing the review? Ah-ha. Until then, if Crooked Fingers want to succeed on their next album where this one failed, they’ve got a bit of straightening out to do.

Forfeit/Fortune is available now.

Tracklisting:
01. What Never Comes
02. Luisa’s Bones
03. Phony Revolutions
04. Give And Be Taken
05. Let’s Not Pretend (To Be New Men)
06. Cannibals
07. Sinisteria
08. No Me Lo Des!
09. Run, Lieutenant, Run
10. Modern Dislocation
11. Your Control

Crooked Fingers: website | myspace

Written by Marc Z. Grub

It’s time for another installment of our Under Cover feature. This week Popwrecker Mona Sheikh takes a look at some covers of Prince‘s “When You Were Mine.”

Prince version, 1980:
Never released as a single and considered a B-side, I was hooked on this early 80’s song upon hearing the last lyric of the chorus, “I love you more than I did when you were mine,” because it is a sentiment that is so sweet and simple, but at the same time profound and incredibly relatable. Laced with a distinctive high-pitched voice, twangy guitar riffs, and that funky “Minneapolis Sound,” Prince’s “When You Were Mine” makes “Little Red Corvette” pale in comparison to “the track formerly known as my favorite Prince song.” It’s a bittersweet “I still love you, please take me back!” song for a woman who left the assless chaps-wearing Prince for another dude, yet with a danceable energy. The ability to make sad songs sound happy is what makes Prince such a genius.

*song removed*

Mitch Ryder, 1983:
I love this version! You can totally hear the John Mellencamp influence in its production, and Ryder’s raspy vocals and classic rock feel venture very far away from the original pop version. This is the kind of tune I’d jump at selecting on a jukebox in a bar when I’m in the mood for dancing and a sing-a-long, several drinks in of course.

*song removed*

Cyndi Lauper, 1985:
First performed at the 1985 American Music Awards as well as being featured in 2003 on The Essential Cyndi Lauper, this cover adds a new wave edge to Prince’s version with a generous helping of synth pop.It actually sounds like something Cyndi could have written on her own, or a tune Prince personally wrote for her to perform. Always one to raise brows, Cyndi chose to leave the gender pronoun in the original lyrics to sound like she’s mourning the loss of a lady. Ooooh! I guess girls really do wanna have fun.

*song removed*

website | myspace

Ani Difranco featuring Maceo Parker, live in 1999:
When jazz great and frequent Prince collaborator Maceo Parker opened for Ani Difranco on her tour, they dedicated their performance to “a local fella…a very purple man” while playing a cover of “When You Were Mine” in his hometown of Minneapolis. Their version is slower paced, stripped down, bluesy and boasts a lot of sax appeal courtesy of Parker. It’s a completely unique take on the original and, like Cyndi, Ani keeps the original lyrics as she croons about her lost female love to another [man or woman?]. Saucy.

*song removed*

website | myspace

Crooked Fingers, 2002:
After forming Crooked Fingers, former Archers of Loaf singer Eric Bachmann and company took their appreciation of Prince to a whole ‘nother level by including their cover version along with some renditions of other favorite artists’ for their EP Reservoir Songs.  Eerie Johnny Cash-like vocals, twangy guitars, and soft backup vocals add a rugged masculinity and dark country vibe to Prince’s pop take. It’s not my favorite cover, but Archers of Loaf fans will rejoice.

*song removed*

website | myspace

Tegan and Sara, 2003:
Following in the footsteps of Cyndi and Ani, this duo performed an electric version and refused to change the gender pronoun of Prince’s original lyrics, making their song about losing the woman they love to the opposite sex. Not only is this version raw and edgier than the others, but it could easily serve as an anthem for lovelorn bisexual and lesbian indie rock women who got burned but aren’t ready to give up.

*song removed*

website | myspace

Now that you’ve heard ‘em all, how do they stack up against the original?

I was recently introduced to the fantastic Head Like A Kite, who are able to create a modern-industrial- pop sound to their music, that is overwhelming to both the body and ears. Head Like A Kite is comprised of just two men, Dave Einmo (on guitar, synthesizer, sampler, and vocals), and Trent Moorman (drums, keys, sampler, and vocals). This two-man band calls upon musical friends every now and again to join them in the studio to assist them with the creation or the remixing of their music.

The band’s first major album was Random Portraits of the Home Movie which was released February of 2006. The album was influenced and inspired by the 1970s’ Super-8 home movies, which they applied an experimental-electronic sound that could be compared to that of The Faint. In response to this album, Head Like A Kite was joined by fellow musicians from The Long Winters, Radio 4, Crooked Fingers, Smoosh, Animals at Night among others and, once again, ventured into the studio to produce yet another album. This second record, titled There Is Loud Laughter Everywhere, was released in June of this year. With such hypnotizing songs as “No Ordinary Caveman,” “Six Bags of Confetti,” and “Daydream Vacation,” this album was a musical success.

But they were not finished yet. On August 19th, they released a six-track EP of remixed tracks from this recently released album. The sound for the remixed tracks took the music to a whole new level. These songs where remixed by several known DJs such as Nobody who took a swing at “No Ordinary Caveman,” and knocked it right out of the park. Boom Bip put a whole new spin on the song “Daydream Vacation” with the help of Asya from Smoosh, and Antimc worked the sound of Head Like A Kite’s “Six Bags of Confetti.” All the while, Daedelus Plucks That Broken Arrow got together with Head Like A Kite to transform “We Were So Entangled” into something new and shiny.

Every single one of these DJ’s injected their own special steroid into their song, creating a whole new feel to the song.

Tracklisting:
01. No Ordinary Caveman (download)
02. No Ordinary Caveman (Nobody’s Totally Spaced Remix)
03. Daydream Vacation (Boom Bip’s Homecoming Remix)
04. Six Bags of Confetti (Antimc’s Skinny Gold Chain Remix)
05. We Were So Entangled (Daedelus Plucks That Broken Arrow Remix)
06. No Ordinary Caveman (Her Space Holiday cover)

Tour Dates:
Aug 30 – Rickshaw Stop / San Francisco
Aug 31 – Old Ironsides / Sacramento
Oct 03 – John in the Morning at Night (KEXP) / Seattle

Head Like A Kite: website | myspace | download, watch “No Ordinary Caveman”
Mush Records: website | myspace

Written by: Kyle Thurin