The Flowers of Hell - Odes (Space Age Recordings)

It’s a busy time for The Flowers of Hell. Not only is their recently released sixth album, Keshakhtaran, creating ripples, waves, and even full-on tsunamis amongst followers and critics alike, but they have also found time to release a vinyl pressing of their Lou Reed-endorsed 2012 cult classic Odes.

Odes is a brilliant and visionary undertaking, a covers album it may be, but it is one that sees them honor their favorite artists by reimagining some of their songs in their signature, lush orchestral-pop sound. I often say that when covering someone else’s song, you either have to stay faithful to the original or entirely refashion it in your sonic image. Here, The Flowers of Hell prove that there is a third way, taking nothing away from the iconic status of the original versions yet adding so much through their orchestral arrangements and cinematic poise.

There are plenty of stand-out tracks, often as much for the bravery and audacity of their choices as for the brilliant reinterpretation. Classic tracks hold a precious place in people’s psyche, so to present new and radically different takes on the soundtrack to their formative years is a hard way of winning people over. But I defy anyone, established fan or casual listener alike, not to love the creativity with which these songs find a new alternative lease of life.

“Atmosphere”, one of Joy Division’s defining moments, has warmth breathed into it, but not at the expense of its melancholic moods and slow-burning restraint. “Walk On The Wild Side” is still funky, urban, and alternative but now also somehow wonderfully sophisticated rather than wilfully sleazy, and the beguiling strains of Klaatu’s “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft”, later made famous by The Carpenters, here feel even more nostalgic and even more alien, the psychedelic becoming genuinely cosmic.

Albums of covers can be very hit-and-miss affairs. To unadventurous, and they beg the question of why bother. Too experimental, and you are accused of thinking that you know the mind of the originator better than they know it themselves. Odes finds the perfect balance. Original (and word to find when describing covers, sure), adventurous, and exciting, yet a perfect tribute and brilliant celebration of these fine selections.

Why can all such albums strive for such standards?

Odes LP
Odes LP
Spotify
Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft
Keshakhtaran LP