Owen // Other People's Songs
The eight-track album features a selection of punk and alt-rock tracks from bands like Smoking Popes, Depeche Mode, and Against Me!, with Kinsella turning them into lush acoustic numbers.
Owen
Other People's Songs
Polyvinyl
Owen's Mike Kinsella is no stranger to covers. The longtime Chicago indie stalwart has pumped out a number of tracks that he has lovingly reshaped to fit his solo act's intimate style, so it was not much of a surprise when he announced the release of the aptly-titled Other People's Songs. The eight-track album features a selection of punk and alt-rock tracks from bands like Smoking Popes, Depeche Mode, and Against Me!, with Kinsella turning them into lush acoustic numbers. His version of Blake Babies "Girl in a Box" is particularly interesting, taking an already sweet-sounding song about the disturbing kidnapping of Colleen Stan and making it sound unnervingly loving. It's Kinsella's ability to add a whole new dimension to songs like "Under the Blanket" and "Borne on the FM Waves of the Heart" that separates his covers from the note-for-note fare, and Other People's Songs certainly doesn't disappoint.
4/5
