Jared Louche and the Aliens – Covergirl – Review

Jared Louche and the Aliens

Covergirl (Invisible)
by Chris Best

Chemlab has been dead and gone for a good three years. I’ve dealt just fine with this. Even though I was a pretty big fan of the band, I have to say that I was not a big fan of their last album (East Side Militia) and was happy that they called it a day before I had to say something nasty about them.

This brings me to today where I open up my mail to see this CD, the first solo project from Jared Louche, the ex-singer of Chemlab. I look at the songs on the back and notice something: all the songs are covers. But far from being a straight album of covers, these selections are reinterpretations that are done well enough to not invoke the originals. Also, to his credit, Jared has neglected obvious choices (with the exception of the Stooges’ “Search & Destroy”) for more obscure numbers. The only places where he stumbles are on his renditions of “Sexy Boy” and “Summer Wind.” When the French duo, Air, recorded “Sexy Boy,” it was hailed as a landmark achievement in antagonizingly annoying songcraft. This version is no different. Now the Frank Sinatra standard, “Summer Wind,” is another kidney stone entirely. Does karaoke give you an idea of what this sounds like?

But to give credit where it’s due, the album is mostly great. All of the other songs are arranged and performed with humor and taste. Kudos to Jared Louche for this. I look forward to hearing what he’ll do with his next album.
(www.invisiblerecords.com)