Hannah’s Take
I was pretty stoked when Matt asked me to review “I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to The Velvet Underground & Nico.” I’ve been living under a rock apparently, because I had no idea this project was in the works at all. Decided to spend a lovely Sunday Morning (couldn’t resist that one) listening to the tribute and I have some major thoughts.
The artists included on the album are solid. St. Vincent, King Princess, and Courtney Barnett excited me the most, as I would have never thought of them crossing paths with The Velvet Underground in any capacity. Regardless of my thoughts on the roundup of artists, I believe everyone on the record offered something unique in terms of musicality. I enjoyed not knowing what to expect from a collection of songs that I already know so well.
“Femme Fatale” is my favorite Velvet Underground tune, so I was particularly looking forward to Sharon Van Etten’s cover. I have to say, she knocked it out of the park. I’m typically not much of a “slow” song kind of gal, but I really enjoyed the steady dreaminess Van Etten added to an already spectacular track.
I was also pretty struck by Andrew Bird and Lucius’s cover of “Venus In Furs.” Both artists offered gritty, full-bodied vocals which were paired with a spectacular string section. Again, this song defied my expectations and drew me in much more than I would have expected had I known it was on the lengthier side: a theme I’m finding consistent across the tribute.
Of course, there were tracks I didn’t feel fit in with the rest, like Kurt Vile’s rendition of “Run Run Run.” While Vile is an extraordinary artist in his own right, I felt like his cover was just a bit too peppy when compared to the remainder of the record. Thankfully, these moments of misplacement were few and far between.
As a whole, I very much enjoyed “I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to The Velvet Underground & Nico.” Each song takes on its own persona, no one exactly like another. I’m really grateful that Matt put this album on my radar and that I went in completely blind. Even if you only slightly like The Velvet Underground, I highly recommend you give this tribute a listen. From start to end, it is a vast array of vocal talent and genre-bending instrumentals. If nothing else, you’ll be totally entertained.
Overall Rating: 9/10
Three Standout Tracks: “Femme Fatale,” “Venus In Furs,” and “There She Goes Again”