Jun 212011
 

Ohio indie rockers Lovedrug have recently released a slew of cover songs to preface their new album Best of I AM LOVEDRUG. The album will feature a wide range of covers of the likes of Third Eye Blind, Fleetwood Mac, Def Leppard and then some. Check out a few preview tracks.

A band has to be either quite confident in their credibility or have an uncanny ability to laugh at themselves  to take on a song by Darren Hayes, Savage Garden frontman. When it comes to a Savage Garden cover there’s only one direction a band can take it: up, and that is where Lovedrug goes with it. They take it up into the clouds and far beyond what one might consider the realm of possibility when it came to this song. Lovedrug unmasked the potential in “Insatiable” and managed to distort it into a techno-indie song with ironic panache.

In fact they turn hokey into hip in a number of places on this album. They seal Def Leppard’s love anthem “Hysteria” with a soft indie pop kiss, and Stevie Nicks’ “Talk to Me,” which originally has the same amount of depth as a Ke$ha lyric, sounds a bit more sincere from frontman Michael Shepard’s comforting and cutely broken voice.

Thankfully they take on some more legitimate originals like Harry Nilsson, Fleetwood Mac, and My Bloody Valentine, which balance out the band’s fun dip into ’80s synth pop, arena rock, and misguided 90s slow jams. Lovedrug shines the brightest on their take of “Dreams.” Their version of the song is more like a renovation than a complete reconstruction. Opting for electronics over acoustics, Lovedrug recreates the silky ambiance using an atmospheric synthesizer. The band also adds an upbeat guitar line that saves the song from over indulging in a complete blending of instruments, proving that just a little bit of ambient sound goes a long way. Then, on My Bloody Valentine’s “Only Shallow,” they create a dreamy wash of noise and crunch. With these tracks to go on, Best of I AM LOVEDRUG looks like a promising album indeed.

Lovedrug – Insatiable (Darren Hayes) cover)

Lovedrug – Talk to Me (Stevie Nicks cover)

Lovedrug – Dreams (Fleetwood Mac cover)

Lovedrug – Only Shallow (My Bloody Valentine cover)

Lovedrug – Hysteria (Def Leppard cover)

Check out more of Lovedrug and pre-order the new album at their website

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  4 Responses to “Lovedrug Takes on Def Leppard, Darren Hayes, Stevie Nicks, and More”

Comments (3) Pingbacks (1)
  1. I like their cover of Darren Hayes song! Though I have to say I actually like the original your comment about things can only go up when they cover a Savage Garden song… get over yourselves music snobbery isn’t cool.

  2. Wow! Thanks for posting :) I love the Fleetwood Mac cover…speaking of Fleetwood, I just recently found a new band, Pistol Annies, which is pretty similar. It’s members consist of Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe & Angaleena Presley. They have a couple of songs available on iTunes, but I can’t wait to her a full-length album!!

  3. I like the Def Leppard cover, it’s done good. They bring the energy back to some really good old school stuff. I can’t wait for the 2015 Def Leppard tour to kick off!

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