Vukovar – Fornication (The BrutalistHouse)
DL / Cassette
31 December 2016 / 1 January 2017
9 / 10
Post-punk neo-folk trio release a collection of
stunning cover versions.
There can be
little doubt that Hurt by Nine Inch Nails is an incredible song but, Johnny
Cash’s cover is often cited as the better version. It’s quite a claim, but it does add several
new dimensions to the track as a dying man offers remorse and sorrow as his
life draws to an end. There can be only
two acceptable reasons for offering a cover – a) to better the original, or b)
to offer a new version so far removed that it takes on a life of its own (see
Prince’s Kiss ‘reinterpreted’ by Age Of Chance). On Fornication, Vukovar often achieve both.
Thirteen tracks
with incredibly ranging roots from Billy Fury to The Velvet Underground, from
The Shangri Las to The Birthday Party, are (un)systematically ripped apart
before re-assembling as though they had never been heard in the first
place. It’s a brave move but one which
the St Helens boys carry off with seeming ease.
The cover of
Laurie Anderson’s O Superman is nothing short of inspirational. The gentle vocal repetition from the original
is replaced by a constant percussive tap with distant voice echoing in the
background. The sound of the jets is
still there albeit in a more aggressive sense and the spoken letter to Mom and
Dad remains but, the punkesque approach
makes it a song of their own.
Eva Braun (The
Screamers) is moved from an electro punk track to a far more organised version
but still carries the wonderful bassline and, The Birthday Party’s Loose
(itself a cover of the Stooges) is also given a new treatment which sees the
reverb and chaotic vocal remain.
The theme of
‘softening off’ each track runs through Fornication creating a dark, haunting,
often fearsome tract. The Velvet
Underground’s Lady Godiva’s Operation is instantly recognisable but has an
increased eeriness and Meet Murder My Angel from the criminally underrated Soft
Cell album This Last Night In Sodom continues the black outlook.
Closing with perhaps
the bravest cover on the album in Coil‘s Sometimes (aka The Gimp), one can’t
help feel that Fornication is somewhat of a triumph. It’s not your conventional covers album,
instead it dares to be different and in doing so not only pays tremendous
homage to the originals but also sets the standard very high in terms of their
own uniqueness. A sell-out? Far from it.
This is wonderful stuff.
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