Sunday, July 17, 2022

The Right Here - "Reckless Kind"


Every release in I-94 Recordings' "Detroit cover" 7" series has been an absolute home run, and that continues to be the case with the latest installment from Minneapolis foursome The Right Here. The concept of the series goes like this: each artist pairs an original A-side number with a cover of a Detroit band or artist on the B-side. Previous installments have featured Ricky Rat, Brian McCarty, and Pat Todd & the Rankoutsiders. The Right Here has no problem hanging with such exclusive company. A-side "Reckless Kind" is what I'd call a vintage Right Here track: an anthemic heart-on-sleeve rocker in the grand Midwestern tradition. Jim from I-94 has been a fan of this band since Stick To the Plan came out in 2016, and his request to have the band join the Detroit covers series was met with great enthusiasm. This installment, like all the others, works because each side of the record is equally important. "Reckless Kind" is a grade-A rocker that definitely falls into the "recommended if you like The Replacements" category. For its Detroit cover, the band went a little outside the box and chose Sponge's 1995 hit "Molly (16 Candles Down the Drain)". The Right Here's interpretation of "Molly" is quite remarkable -- transforming this vintage slice of '90s alt-rock into a melancholy country rock heartbreaker. If the ultimate goal of a cover is to make a song your own, The Right Here gets a ten out of ten here. If I didn't know any better, I'd think this was one of the band's originals! 

"Reckless Kind" is such an extraordinary single that it makes me want to immediately revisit The Right Here's most recent album Northern Town. The 7" is available now from the I-94 Recordings website in many varieties of colors. Previous installments in the Detroit covers series are still available as well. Additional installments from the Candy Snatchers and David Bierman Overdrive are due out this summer with many more in the works! Hit up the label's web site to order records and catch up on all the latest I-94 news! 

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