Mike Kinsella is a name synonymous with emo-rock, having been involved in seminal acts such as Cap’n Jazz and American Football and Owen is his long-standing solo project. The Illinois based thirty-something has spent the best part of the last two decades crafting some of the most intelligent and earnest tunes going. ‘Other People’s Songs’ continues that trend, only this time we hear Mike’s take on similarly influential artists.
Lungfish’s ‘Descender’ is first up. The original, from their ‘Talking Songs For Walking’, is a stripped back and slow tempo punk-rock track. Mike’s take on it does add more atmosphere and a sense of poignancy and it does work really well. You’ve then got ‘Girl In A Box’ from Blake Babies’ ‘Sunburn’ album. Again the original is fairly stripped back to start with but on this occasion there isn’t a great improvement or a new direction taken. It’s perfectly enjoyable but no more so than the 1990’s track. Mojave 3’s ‘Some Kinda Angel’ from their ‘Out Of Tune’ album is a great track and the original actually has more life at times. You can really hear where bands such as Limbeck and the Hold Steady have been influenced too.
The album then heads into covers of more universally known acts and The Promise Ring’s ‘Forget Me’ from their ‘Noting Feels Good’ album has been given a country-tinge by Kinsella. It loses a touch of pace but it’s a solid cover track and a nice reference to an album that still feels relevant today. Then Depeche Mode’s ‘Judas’ is, as expected, a lighter take on a very 80’s sound. All’s ‘Just Like Them’ is perhaps our favourite cover track on this record – it’s originally a fun punk-rock effort and Mike adds more palatable vocals and a more effective take on the bridge.
The release closes with ‘Borne On The FM Waves Of The Heart’ by Against Me and ‘Under The Blanket’ by The Smoking Popes. The Against Me track really does miss Laura Jane Grace’s gravelly vocals but it’s not a bad effort, where as the final track is probably the best cover of the lot. Kinsella’s vocal melodies bring out the verses and chorus far more than the Smoking Pope’s managed back in 2010.
These eight tracks are a calming listen but don’t add a great deal to the original tracks if we’re honest. Those of us who are more cynical will also note the early December release date, obviously a key time in the build up to Christmas, and question the motivation here. Perhaps that’s overly critical though, there’s certainly nothing intrinsically wrong with ‘Other People’s Songs’ but at the same time we’re unlikely to go back for many repeat listens.
TOM BECK