SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: COHEED AND CAMBRIA – CLAUDIO COVERS

COHEED AND CAMBRIA
CLAUDIO COVERS
VIRGIN MUSIC GROUP

Coheed And Cambria have released a surprise EP titled Claudio Covers. The album features eight songs that vocalist, primary song writer, and lead guitarist Claudio Sanchez reimagined, which include hits by The Cure and Taylor Swift.

The album opens with Sanchez’s stripped-down version of The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” that is enjoyable, being as close to what you would expect from a cover of the song. Sanchez’s unmistakable voice is easily comparable to Robert Smith’s, and this light version will easily take you back to 1987 but somehow keep you in this moment at the same time.

“Welcome To New York”, is a nice acoustic version of Taylor Swift’s song that Sanchez manages to make his own without adding a bunch of “out of the box” elements, something that oftentimes makes a cover almost unrecognizable and is often difficult to do with covers. He flows effortlessly through the song with his smooth vocals all the way to the end.

“Your Love”, Sanchez’s not-so-enjoyable version of The Outfield’s 1986 hit is not what you would expect a cover of this song to sound like, it sounds too much like a children’s choir. Between the unexpected vocals and the variations throughout the song, it was hard to listen to.

This acoustic version of Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian” is a little bit easier on the ears but also gives those children’s church choir attempting a rock song vibe.

Despite a couple of disappointments, Claudio Covers is worth listening to. One thing Sanchez knows how to do is make beautiful covers. This EP comes just ahead of the release of their tenth studio album, The Father of Make Believe, arriving in March of this year.

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