Many music lovers will already know that Disintegration is an album by The Cure and arguably one of the best albums ever written. According to Morgan Bellini, covering a few songs of this epic piece of gold has always been a dream. And, as I may add, a huge risk. Covering something perfect like Plainsong or Fascination Street is not an easy task, at least not if you want to convince shoegaze/drone rock fans. Yet, it seems like Vanessa Van Basten really pulled it off.
The e.p. starts with 'Plainbong' (yes, they gave it a weed-touch), a heavily droning cover of 'Plainsong'. Just like follower 'Dosedown' ('Closedown') the song is quite similar to the original but with loads of distortion and soundscapes. The guest vocalists never really reach the quality of Robert Smith's voice but that's actually ok. The whole reminds me of Nadja's coveralbum 'When I See The Sun Always Shines On TV'.
'Fascination Trip' is a bit more metal-related. The best album to compare this one to is Atrocity's 'Werk 80'. This is indeed a metal version of a new wave song, but not the best track on this e.p. 'Retitled' (a retitled version of 'Untitled', haha), has a similar approach with very heavy guitars but here the original Cure-feeling is a bit more present.
As a whole, the Disintegration e.p. is a nice addition to any collection but like many others, I will always prefer the original. Vanessa Van Basten did a good job covering these four beautiful songs and at least one of them would make a live concert extra special. Unfortunately this project is going on a hiatus so maybe we will never know what it sounds like on stage. This e.p. is available at Taxi Driver Records on vinyl and as a digital download.
Serge
The e.p. starts with 'Plainbong' (yes, they gave it a weed-touch), a heavily droning cover of 'Plainsong'. Just like follower 'Dosedown' ('Closedown') the song is quite similar to the original but with loads of distortion and soundscapes. The guest vocalists never really reach the quality of Robert Smith's voice but that's actually ok. The whole reminds me of Nadja's coveralbum 'When I See The Sun Always Shines On TV'.
'Fascination Trip' is a bit more metal-related. The best album to compare this one to is Atrocity's 'Werk 80'. This is indeed a metal version of a new wave song, but not the best track on this e.p. 'Retitled' (a retitled version of 'Untitled', haha), has a similar approach with very heavy guitars but here the original Cure-feeling is a bit more present.
As a whole, the Disintegration e.p. is a nice addition to any collection but like many others, I will always prefer the original. Vanessa Van Basten did a good job covering these four beautiful songs and at least one of them would make a live concert extra special. Unfortunately this project is going on a hiatus so maybe we will never know what it sounds like on stage. This e.p. is available at Taxi Driver Records on vinyl and as a digital download.
Serge