Undercover.

Wye Oak covers The Kinks

The AV Club's midway through a feature where they invite bands to their office to play cover songs. I'm getting more into this than I should, and it's clear that the quality varies widely. You could even say that the songs fall into three categories. The best of the bunch obviously have had some work put into the arrangement and the performance. The second tier consists mostly of stripped-down versions, performed well, but without much transformation. The bad entries are the ones that seem thrown together with lousy harmonies and improvised instrumentation.

First-rate:

• Wye Oak - Strangers (by The Kinks): The most recent entry is by far my favorite. Wye Oak have done right by the original, but added some ripping solos. Jonathan Meiburg from Shearwater sings the harmonies wonderfully.
  
• Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Everybody Wants to Rule the World (by Tears for Fears): The series led off with Ted Leo, who set the bar so high that the next seven entries seemed pretty disappointing.
  
• The Fruit Bats - One on One (by Hall and Oates): I'm really glad that the Fruit Bats grabbed this one, because the lead singer knows how to sing, and I doubt that most of the other singers could have pulled off the song's range and key change at the chorus. The Fruit Bats also chose to take the song seriously, which was good. Compare with Cursive's annoying deconstructive approach (below), and you'll get some insight into what makes an effective pop cover.
  
• The Clientele - Paper Planes (by M.I.A.): It's hard to do this song without the gunshots and cash register, but the cool violins make up for it. Again, playing the song without winking at the camera is the right move.
  

Pretty Solid:

• Ben Folds - Say Yes (by Elliott Smith): Ben Folds does a good job with this one, and it's tempting to put it in the top category. But I don't think you can get within striking distance of the lovely original without a larger band; Elliott Smith completely owned the stripped-down performance. Still, it's definitely a worthy tribute.
  
• Justin Townes Earle - Atlantic City (by Bruce Springsteen): I like the picking pattern and the desperation in Earle's voice, but he can't touch the Boss.
  
• Alkaline Trio - Web in Front (by Archers of Loaf): I was disappointed in this one. There's nothing wrong with Alkaline Trio's performance, but the original is a quick, melodic, musical version of a punch in the gut, and I didn't get the same urgency here. More guitar work might have helped, or a harmonica, or something.
  

Poor effort:

• Maritime - Enjoy The Silence (by Depeche Mode): I feel bad about putting this one so low, but it just didn't grab me. I don't know the original, and while I like a bunch of songs by the Promise Ring, that affection doesn't carry me through to Maritime.
  
• Retribution Gospel Choir - Kokomo (by The Beach Boys): They tried to have fun with it, but letting the drummer sing lead was probably a bad idea. It's nice that they like the song, though.
  
• Cursive - We Built This City on Rock and Roll (by Starship): Tim Kasher is singing terribly here. Maybe they like the original in a so-bad-it's-good way, but their approach exaggerates what's annoying in the song and ignores anything that might have been good about the original performance. This is exactly the opposite of what the Fruit Bats did, and you can see where it puts Cursive on the list.

There are fifteen songs to go, and of these I'm most excited to see who plays Superchunk's “Detroit Has A Skyline” or The Replacements’ “I Will Dare.”