Fruits de Mer Records specialize in vinyl only releases featuring contemporary bands covering songs – many quite obscure -from the 1960s and early 1970s. Beautify Junkyards are a new band from Portugal whose debut is this 2 song single which features covers of Nick Drake’s From The Morning and Os Mutantes’ Fuga No.2.
On the surface, From The Morning is faithful to the Nick Drake original. But Beautify Junkyards put their own stamp on the song by coloring the music with delicate electronics and a spacey keyboard melody. Very nice. Ditto for Fuga No.2. Beautify Junkyards recreate the flowing folk-psych feel of the original, but add a gorgeous symphonic backdrop to the chorus which gets increasingly spaced out as the song progresses.
The single will be available mid-August and is limited to 800 copies, and as usual this is vinyl ONLY, no CDs or downloads. If interested you better hurry because Fruits de Mer releases sell out QUICK!
Also note that Beautify Junkyards are wrapping up their first album which will feature covers of songs by the likes of Kraftwerk, Linda Perhacs, Vashti Bunyan, Bridget St. John, and Roy Harper. Hear a few of the songs at http://beautifyjunkyards.bandcamp.com. You’ve GOT to hear their acoustic folk interpretation of Kraftwerk’s Radioactivity!!!
For more information visit the Fruits de Mer Records web site at: http://www.fruitsdemerrecords.com
Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz