MOUTH OF THE ARCHITECT LOOK INTO MY EYES, COVER PETER GABRIEL THE RIGHT WAY

If you read this site regularly, you know my opinion about covers. Nine times outta ten, they blow goats. So often, we hear bands perform a cover that either a) sounds so much like the original that you wonder what was even the point of covering the song, or b) sounds like the original only “heavier,” so that wonder what was even the point of covering the song. When bands fail to put their own spin on the material, all the end up with is an inferior copy of the original.

And apparently Mouth of the Architect agree with me: for their latest EP, The Violence Beneath, they recorded a cover Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” that keeps the basic melody line of the original and not much else. And the results are… well, this is one of the best covers I’ve heard in ages. I really, really dig it. And y’know what? As much as I like Peter Gabriel, I actually hate this song — not because it’s bad or anything, but just because it’s become such a cliché that I feel like I never really need to hear it again. (I feel the same way about U2’s “With or Without You,” Biggie’s “Hypnotize,” and pretty much anything by Madonna.) So the fact that I like this so much is an even greater testament to the excellent job MotA have done.

Thanks to Noisecreep for bringing this cover to my attention — The Violence Beneath is out now on Translation Loss, but I haven’t heard it. Guess I should get on that!

-AR