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In the blue corner, we have Andrew Jackson Jihad covering Neutral Milk Hotel, which is an obvious influence of theirs. But will Cobra Skulls, in the red corner, be able to compete covering Bob Dylan?

To put it simply, Neutral Milk Hotel’s "Two Headed Boy" is an acoustic song covered acoustically. Andrew Jackson Jihad does a good job of changing the pace of the riff ever so mildly (more of a punk chugging sound) to fit the song’s slight speed increase. Sean-Claude Bonnette’s vocal styling couldn’t be more different NMH’s Jeff Magnum: High-pitched and almost meek versus Jeff’s bassy delivery. The vulnerability of the song is accented with Sean, but it’s not a surprise he needed to double-track his vocals during the choruses to equal the power of Magnum. The song fades out with what could be anything from a bass synth to a sedated didgeridoo which complements the acoustic guitar nicely, but it seems like the main goal of this cover was an homage to an influence rather than a cover that could stand up over repeated listens. After a few spins I was ready for NMH’s version becoming the sole version of that song I will listen to again and again.

I wasn’t the only one to raise their eyebrow when they heard Cobra Skulls was covering Bob Dylan’s "Subterranean Homesick Blues," but they do such a bang=up job I’m sure everyone’s eyebrows were subsequently lowered. The cover sounds like, well, a rockabilly band covering "Subterranean Homesick Blues," but they do it as a complete rock and roll rave-up that’s irresistible, rendering the Red Hot Chili Peppers version completely obsolete (if it wasn’t already). Above all, Devin Peralta does a good job of fitting the odd vocal meter into the speed of the song, and speeding up the song exponentially during the fade-out was a nice touch to go out on.

On paper Andrew Jackson Jihad had the advantage but Cobra Skulls won via knockout in the 5th round.



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    Posted by ashtraymonument on 2009-04-12 21:20:27
    My Score:

    whats with all the AJJ hate? this is my fav so far of the series

    Posted by tenwestchaser on 2009-04-12 19:03:42

    Maybe I should have read the review first. So I guess I AM retarded.

    Posted by tenwestchaser on 2009-04-12 19:02:47

    This cover looks quite a bit like that one Neutral Milk Hotel cover. Or is that the point and I'm just retarded?

    Posted by NefariousFIG on 2009-04-12 18:15:52

    Just to reiterate what's already been said once, it's Mangum, not Magnum. The number of people who fuck up his name seems to be second only to the number who write Elliott Smith with only one "t". Or Mitch Hedberg as Mitch Hedburg.

    Anyway, I've yet to listen to this, but I've really been looking forward to it. I even preordered it from Vinyl Collective long ago, but it's becoming clear that my order somehow got lost in the shuffle. I guess I'll have to email them.

    Posted by nikko on 2009-04-12 15:04:53

    The cobra skulls cover was greatt. I dont get why Jackson cover two headed boy though...there's so many better songs. Part two is even better. Someone has to find Jeff Magnum where the fuck did he go?!!?

    Posted by HOISTDATRAG on 2009-04-12 14:21:29
    My Score:

    Looks like I'm one of the few that likes the AJJ side better, but of course I'm biased because AJJ and Neutral Milk Hotel are two of my favorite bands.

    Posted by k-dubs on 2009-04-12 12:50:41

    so the AJJ cover sounds like an acoustic band covering an acoustic song, and the Cobra Skulls side sounds like a Psychobilly band covering Dylan...

    horrible review

    Posted by erff on 2009-04-12 11:37:34
    My Score:

    I've listened to the cobra skulls side quite a few times and tried listening to ajj but had to flip it over about 10 seconds into it. After seeing ajj I sort of have a grudge against them. The singer kept doing the whole " Hey miami! How are you guys doing tonight" thing, while being in chicago. They're not funny and they're not that good.

    Posted by ThoughtriotAF578 on 2009-04-11 20:13:09

    AJJ: not bad at all, but nothing special either.
    Cobra Skulls: One of the best covers i've heard in a long time.

    Overall great split, my favorite of the series so far. I'm looking forward to the Lemuria/OWTH one quite a bit. This whole series is awesome.

    Posted by Babrook on 2009-04-11 18:44:47

    Score is for how much I LOOOOVEE YOU JESUS CHRIST

    Posted by telegraphrocks on 2009-04-11 14:57:27
    My Score:

    Score's for Cobra Skulls' cover... one of the best ever.

    Still haven't flipped it over to listen to AJJ yet.

    Posted by theproblemwithfire on 2009-04-11 14:33:19
    My Score:

    score is for Neutral Milk Hotel's in the areoplane over the sea album

    Posted by misterspike on 2009-04-11 12:45:50
    My Score:

    Oh yeah, and great album cover. Mitch Clem = Pure Awesomeness. Score is for Mitch.

    Posted by misterspike on 2009-04-11 12:45:03
    My Score:

    Totally agree with MNpunkmaster below.

    Great review, Torgo.

    Posted by marthaplimpton on 2009-04-11 11:27:02

    is anyone else into frightened rabbit

    Posted by MN_punkmaster-skaman on 2009-04-10 23:34:36

    Another solid release from a great series. Cobra Skulls do the better job, though.

    Posted by torgo on 2009-04-10 23:31:44

    Oh don't make me blush Mike

    Posted by mikexdude on 2009-04-10 23:30:09
    My Score:

    Great artwork, great review, decent covers. solid 6

    Posted by Torgo on 2009-04-10 22:33:01

    1234go: You're right, it is, that's what I get for not having friends that like NMH in real life to correct me on my dyslexia

    thepopeofchili-town: Yeah I'd give Cobra Skulls a solid 3.5 and AJJ a weak 2.5

    Posted by thepopeofchili-town on 2009-04-10 22:19:39
    My Score:

    A friend of mine dragged me into Hot Topic, and to my surprise they had about 20 copies of this split in there. I picked up two for myself. Cheaper than Interpunk and no shipping costs. I like AJJ more in general, but this split is all about the Cobra Skulls. Score's for their contribution....

    Posted by 1234go on 2009-04-10 22:15:31

    It's mangum.

    I'm surprised they didn't cover the Mt. Goats.

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