Album Details

• Artist: Nouvelle Vague
• Album: Nv3
• Label: Peacefrog
• Year of Release: 2009
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2009-12-07

As cheesy as it sounds, bossa nova covers are amazing and Nouvelle Vague is a band that knows how to make a career out of covering great songs. Not only do they cover them, they turn them into their very own. It's a tricky endeavor but entirely possibly. Think of some of your favorite cover songs and you probably thought their were being done by the songwriter. Some of my favorites "I Fought The Law" by the Clash. 

Anyway, the French musical collective known as Nouvelle Vague has taken on a feat that I'm not sure has been done, at least in a way like this. The group has attempted to have the original artist included on the recording in a duet form. Oh, and it works almost unrealistically. Obviously, the band couldn't get everyone but the ones that did show up sure make an impact.NV3 starts off with Depeche Mode's Master & Servant and yes, it does feature Martin Gore. They do amazing versions of "Blister In The Sun" and "Road To Nowhere", sadly without original artists but still alarmingly different just the same. Echo & The Bunnymen's "All My Colours" actually features Ian McCulloch in such a sultry, jazzy style that you have a hard time recognizing it. One of my favorites, Psychedelic Furs "Heaven" is probably the closest to the original but it still takes on a bit of a Bossa feel. I thought a metal track was in order with "Parade" until I found out it was the track from Magazine complete with vocals shared with Barry Adamson. Another brilliant track is Soft Cell's "Say Hello Wave Goodbye" turning it on its ear into a smoky, torch song. Another fave was the cover of the Police's "So Lonely", barely getting the metronome moving; a complete reworking sounding like its coming from the bathtub. Oh, and it should be mentioned that "God Save The Queen" is on here, no Johnny Rotten though. Too bad. Hard to think of a punk rebellion song sung with just a sultry female vocalist and an acoustic guitar.

If you dig some crazy female fronted covers then look no further than this Nouvelle Vague album. It's beyond just novelty.

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