ZapTown

The Last Domino
Bjorksongs (Domino In The Dark)
http://www.thelastdomino.com/bjorksongs_album.html
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Let’s face it. It is not easy to cover a Bjork song and make it successfully work. Hearing numerous bands try their hands at the mercy of the Icelandic woman’s music, the band usually fails at the fault of their own interpretation; that or try too hard to maintain every ounce of preservation within the song while loosing the identity of the band.

For The Last Domino, John Orr bravely sludged through Bjork’s discography and selected five songs who simply risked it for the admiration to a musician that is dear to his heart.

What transpires is five songs that will surprise you. Maybe that is because Orr knows his limitations, or maybe that he also knows how to focus and has a great ear at piecing together a song that not only gives props to the person he’s covering, but also to his own identity.

Using various instruments, his choices are well worth it. “Who Is It (Carry My Joy On The Left, Carry My Pain On The Right)” begins with a wailing saxophone that builds to the addition of his acoustic guitar strumming away and Orr’s powerful vocal chords breaking any silence between the words. This is a man who is not afraid to be heard.

“Hidden Place” is both creepy and beautiful at the same time, like something you would hear if you did a mash-up of Bauhaus and Martin Denny.  “Hyper Ballad” is a more straight-laced version of the song because Orr trades electronics for looping effects, but he does it so that the song is comforting without lacking anything.

He also takes a hard rock feedback stab at “Army Of Me” that sounds more like early Soundgarden covering this song. Although short-lived, the noisy cover really stands out.

Leading to an a capela rendition of “Unravel,” it’s stunning as to how Orr can warp his vocals into a melodic army and a testament to Orr’s talent.

“Unison” is probably my least favorite of the EP, and “The Anchor Song” is anti-climactic compared to everything else on here. But again, we are talking about someone who can successfully weave a bjork song into his own ideologies.

You can download the EP for free from his website.