July is becoming a big month for free anniversary full-album tributes. Last week SPIN gave us their tribute to Nirvana, and today Stereogum surprises us with Stroked, a collection of covers from the Strokes’ game-changing debut Is This It. Eleven indie icons and upstarts cover every song on the album, just as they did with Radiohead’s OK Computer.
Most of the performances take the tunes in surprising new directions. Austra crafts a downtempo electro take on “Alone, Together,” Chelsea Wolfe builds an atmospheric haze on “The Modern Age,” and Owen Pallett delivers a breathtaking string quartet version of “Hard to Explain.” With only a few misses – Peter, Bjorn, and John’s paint-by-numbers take adds nothing to the title track, and Heems (of Das Racist)’s “New York City Cops” rap doesn’t even count as a cover – it’s a must-download. Check out a few of our favorites below, then download the whole thing here.
MP3: Austra – Alone, Together (The Strokes cover)
[audio: News0711/26AloneTogether.mp3|artists=Austra|titles=Alone Together]
MP3: Owen Pallett – Hard to Explain (The Strokes cover)
[audio: News0711/26HardtoExplain.mp3|artists=Owen Pallett|titles=Hard to Explain]
Download the entire ‘Stroked’ for free at Stereogum.
Stroked Tracklist:
01. Peter Bjorn And John, “Is This It”
02. Chelsea Wolfe, “The Modern Age”
03. Frankie Rose, “Soma”
04. Real Estate, “Barely Legal”
05. Wise Blood, “Someday”
06. Austra, “Alone, Together”
07. The Morning Benders, “Last Night”
08. Owen Pallett, “Hard To Explain”
09. Heems, “New York City Cops”
10. Deradoorian, “Trying Your Luck”
11. Computer Magic, “Take It Or Leave It”
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