Various Artists - Nouvelle Vague Presents New Wave

“You should hear our version of Louie Louie – wow”

We’ve never been able to forgive Paul Young for butchering Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart. That’s the beauty of cover versions, however, as they can be totally right (anything by Aretha Franklin) or totally awful. Thankfully, Marc Collin and Giles Leguen of Nouvelle Vague steer this two-disc compilation into better waters.

It’s a great idea to pull together a confection of new wave cover versions, and anyone who’s never heard Snakefinger’s version of Kraftwerk’s The Model is in for a treat. The same applies to Devo’s Satisfaction, The Slits’ I Heard It Through The Gravevine and Etienne Daho’s Arnold Layne. A hat must also be tipped to Gary Numan’s masterful On Broadway.

It’s the obscure bands that please most, with Paul Haig’s funky Running Away being a gem, as is Antena’s warped version of The Boy From Ipanema, The Flying Lizards’ run through Move On Up and Elton Motello’s fun ride across the Dolls’ Jet Boy, Jet Girl. There are a few duff tracks: Duran Duran try too hard on Fame, although Joy Division have tremendous fun on their live version of Sister Ray. All told, a really excellent compilation.

District | 6 (2-CD)

Reviewed by Ian Shirley
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