One thing I've found that I really enjoy in music lately is when bands I like do covers records. Now I wouldn't necessarily want to hear a band I've never heard before doing a covers record. But if I like a band and am deeply familiar with its catalog, I think it's kind of neat to sometimes hear it recording other bands' material. It gives me insight into influences I might never have suspected. If I like a songwriter, my inquiring mind wants to know what songwriters that songwriter likes. I always enjoy hearing a favorite band putting its signature on songs I'm familiar with, and sometimes these covers introduce me to songs I wasn't familiar with. I've listened to The Speedways' Borrowed and Blue, MOM's Pulls a Fast One, and Vista Blue's Runaway countless times and love those titles as much as those bands' original music. While I eagerly wait for sequels from The Speedways and MOM, I am thrilled by the arrival of another covers EP from Vista Blue.
As was the case with Runaway, Be Good does not go the obvious route in its track selection. As a big fan of what you might call "1980s British classic alternative rock for kids who wore black," I was excited to hear Vista Blue tackle The Cure's "In Between Days" (one of the greatest pop songs ever written) and the Lightning Seeds' "Pure." The latter retains the spirit of the original but adds some of the band's special sauce. The former gets fully transformed into a punky pop song that you could perhaps mistake for a VB original if you've been living in a cave for 40 years. If you're even going to attempt a song as untouchable as "In Between Days," you've got to make it your own. Mission accomplished, and now Mike has earned his goth card. Speaking of untouchable, Waxahatchee's "Be Good" is one of the greatest songs of this millennium, and VB wisely adapts it to its own style rather than trying to top it. If you've ever thought that "Be Good" would work really well as a pop-punk song, you will be pleased to hear what Vista Blue has done with it. I must confess knowing nothing about the band Lemon Demon*, but "As Your Father I Expressly Forbid It" made me laugh out loud more than a couple times. This is another delightful release from Vista Blue and a reminder that great bands aren't great bands just because of the songwriting. Singing, musicianship, production, and arrangement matter too, and no Vista Blue fan will be disappointed by Be Good.
*It turns out Lemon Demon is Mike's daughter's favorite band, and he recorded the song as a surprise for her. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the coolest dad in America!
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