VARIOUS ARTISTS Guilt By Association Vol. 2 (Engine Room Recordings)

The Guilt By Association series was conceived by Peter Block, co-founder of Engine Room Recordings, with the idea of bringing together obscure indie bands to cover erm pay homage to well-known mainstream hits. 

On Vol. 2, the obvious standout tracks arrive courtesy of Lowry’s fairly stripped down but gorgeous rendition of Toto’s Africa; Takka Takka’s acid-folk version of Phil Collins’ megahit, In the Air Tonight, MYy Brightest Diamond’s dynamic tribute to Soft Cell’s Tainted Love and Cassettes Won’t Listen’s mutant electronica take on that INXS classic, Need You Tonight.

The rest of Guilt By Association is hit or miss as these compilations tend to be and personal preferences very much depend on your affinity for the original material or the band covering said material. Which probably explains my own bias as stated above. Seriously folks, that version of Africa by Lowry is positively mind-bending.

Understand that Vol. 3 is in the works…