It’s a simple idea; Deep Elm’s current roster to cover classic tracks from the label’s back catalogue must officially mean that I am old. Simple perhaps, but it wraps up in a neat little package the one thing that makes Deep Elm a great label: They truly care about the music they put out.

For the most part, the covers stay disappointingly close to the originals - Eleven Minutes Away’s cover of Camber’s Hollowed-Out even goes so far as to completely reproduce Barry Lott’s distinctive vocal phrasing.

Elsewhere, the best versions are those that put a new stamp on the song: Small Arms Dealer don’t deviate far from Cross My Heart’s Today I Discovered The World but do give it some welcome beefing up; Free Diamonds take Muckafurgason’s chirpy style and stick it on a bouncy castle straight after dinner; Burns Out Bright deliciously punk up Pop Unknown’s This Guy’s Ready For Bed; and Slowride’s acoustic version of Fishing The Sky by The Appleseed Cast is just lovely.

For old school fans of Deep Elm, this is sure to peak your interest in a few of their newer bands. And if you’re a newcomer, it might just get you to seek out some of those truly great early releases. Whichever you are, you’re going to want this record.

Label: Deep Elm
Website: www.deepelm.com
Release date: 22nd May 2007

Tracklist:

1. Desert City Soundtrack - Marigold & Patchwork (The Appleseed Cast)
2. Small Arms Dealer - Today I Discovered The World (Cross My Heart)
3. Clair De Lune - Angel On Hiatus (Benton Falls)
4. Fightstar - The Days I Recall Being Wonderful (Last Days Of April)
5. Lock And Key - Blindspot (Brandtson)
6. Eleven Minutes Away - Hollowed-Out (Camber)
7. Free Diamonds - Go Teens (Muckafurgason)
8. Surrounded - Coming From The Cold (Starmarket)
9. Slowride - Fishing The Sky (The Appleseed Cast)
10. Burns Out Bright - This Guy’s Ready For Bed (Pop Unknown)
11. Settlefish - Will The Violins Be Playing? (Last Days Of April)
12. Sounds Like Violence - No One Knows What We’ve Got (unreleased track)