Amazing Transparent Man

Taking Back the Covers (2003)

Greg

The pink-wearing-pop-punkers from DeKalb, Illinois are back with this EP of covers, taking back some famous female ditties for the guys. They rip through six classics with their old-school-blink 182 style- a raw, not-over produced sound that is uncommon in pop punk these days. These guys also switch things up with Tony D and Rick switching between bass and guitar, and sharing vocal duties. They are hilarious guys, but don't poke fun too much at these songs, they simply play them punked-up.

"Bitch," originally by Meredith Brooks, you'll remember back from 1997. These boys take it and transfer it to the standard ATM style, with Tony D's raspy vocals on a song just out of his range at times. It's a good tune, and I really dig the sped up harmonized "woo-oo-woos" at the end. This is one of the best tracks on the EP. Tracy Chapman's pop-folk "Fast Car" from her debut album from 1988, is done here starting out with an almost electric-folk feel, with clicks on the snare, which soon is bumped up to punk speed with breakdowns and gritty palm-muting thrown in at the best times.

I was skeptical about "Nothing Compares to You," (written by Prince but made famous my Sinead O'Connor) since the Gimme Gimmes already stole me on their cover of this song, released recently on "Uncontrollable Fatulence." But ATM does it much different, and fairly out of their style. They keep it slow, done with only an acoustic guitar- played with bar chords and sometimes arpeggiated- and vocals, with a spiffy classical-style guitar solo in the bridge. The cover is ok and I still dig the Gimmes' version more, but this track stands out on the EP nonetheless for its style change.

Shania Twain's "Man, I Feel like a Woman!" is done with a tinge of metal, and works very well in the boys' style, especially the "woah's" in the chorus, taken from their pop-country feel and made pop-punk. Rick's nasal, sometimes-snotty vocals really make this song, and it's a good ending track.

The other tracks "Criminal," Fiona Apple's 1996 hit and "Holding Out for A Hero" by Bonnie Tyler (on the Footloose soundtrack) are done fairly straight up ATM punk. This EP will definitely please anyone who wants instantly sing-able tunes done over a raw pop punk backdrop; not the best covers I've ever heard, but an enjoyable listen anyways. These guys are really nice though, and hilarious- be sure to check them out live.