
Regular readers know how much we’ve enjoyed The A.V. Club’s Undercover series. It brought us the Swell Season covering Neutral Milk Hotel, Frightened Rabbit covering the Lemonheads, and the Antlers covering Pink Floyd, all in the Club’s unique pick-a-cover-off-the-list system. Sadly, it’s nearing the end. Canadian indie breakout Tokyo Police Club had only two covers left to choose from – Billy Squier’s “Everybody Wants You” and R.E.M.’s “Driver 8.” They went with Squier, which means the last band is stuck with R.E.M. (you could do worse)
The band claims they picked the 1982 hit because they didn’t know it as well. That meant “no one would be bummed if we didn’t do it the great, majestic service it’s owed,” singer Dave Monks explains. Such self-deprecating remarks sell the band short. They put forward a grungey stomp that starts out rocking and slows to a dirty groove.
Watch the video and download an MP3 below, courtesy of The A.V. Club. Check back next week to see who wraps up the series with some R.E.M.
Check out more Tokyo Police Club at their website or MySpace.