Prom Queen Album Review
Covering famous songs is tricky business. The musical corners of the Internet are a veritable minefield of questionable to downright criminally-bad covers. But every so often, a cover (or in this case a set of them) makes a bold statement with a level of originality in their performance. Such is the case with Covers, a new set of sultry reinterpretations of famous songs from Prom Queen.
Prom Queen is the alter-ego of Chiptune artist Leeni, whom I've written about previously. As a music act, Prom Queen is about as far away from the video game-inspired pop soundscapes as Leeni could go. The album opens with Prom Queen singing Madonna's notorious "Justify My Love", morphed into a Lynchian slow dance and sung by channeling a melancholic Connie Francis.
The arrangement also has notes of what a cover of Radiohead's "Creep" might sound like if performed by Prom Queen (subtle hint). The David Lynch undertones continue with her cover of "Wicked Game".
This track doesn't deviate far from the haunting love balladry of the Chris Isaak original, so it is all about Leeni/Prom Queen's vocals, which have a breathy, china shop-fragility to them. Prom Queen saves the best for last, however, as she applies her best anti-ingénue voice to Guns N' Roses' "November Rain".
This is the performance which first grabbed my ear's attention and really is the defining moment of the album. With hints of Marianne Faithful and Nancy Sinatra, Prom Queen more than successfully reinvents Axl Rose's symphonic ballad into a dreamy, twang guitar waltz.
The album also features versions of Sophie B. Hawkins' "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" and a Sapphic-tinged take on The Pixies "Cactus". Covers is a free download, so even if you are not attending a Twin Peaks-themed homecoming dance any time soon, head over to Prom Queen's bandcamp page and lets these songs darken up your favorite play list.
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