Oct 222010
 

Full Albums features covers of every track off a classic album. Got an idea for a future pick? Leave a note in the comments!

Elliott Smith’s 1997 release, Either/Or, strikes the perfect balance between the stripped-down acoustic recordings of his early career and the more fleshed-out arrangements that he would later explore. It doesn’t hurt that the album contains some of his most memorable melodies as well.

With its near-whispered vocals and dark lyrics, Elliott Smith’s music has always had a personal, headphone-music quality to it—you don’t see many summer barbecue mixes blaring tracks like “2:45 AM.” As a result, the best covers of his songs tend not to stray far from the singer-recording-in-his-bedroom model, but we’ve also included some of the more adventurous interpretations of his work. Continue reading »

Oct 142010
 

Sufjan Steven’s new album The Age of Adz just dropped Tuesday, but already we have the first cover of one of its songs. And not just a cover song – a full video! Cue speech about the Internet moving at the speed of blog or whatever.

Los Angeles indie-disco band Jump Clubb tackled the album’s opening track, “Futile Devices.” Stevens’ song is all delicate guitar and delicate-r vocals about sleeping and crocheting and such. Jump Clubb adds twitchy drum machine and sticky synth for a four-on-the-floor pounder that makes the lo-fi vocals seem all the more restrained. This certainly won’t be the last Age of Adz cover, but it sets the bar pretty high. Continue reading »