To celebrate their 10th year as a band, South Korea's Say Sue Me decided to record a few covers. 10, out now via Damnably, is a release that's easy to love. It's also a good showcase for this group's talents at revealing new ways to tackle indie-rock.
Opening with Yo La Tengo gem "Season of the Shark", Say Sue Me set a mood here on 10. Apparently determined to not take the easy route in terms of how to cover this stuff, the band puts their own stamp on this one, as they do with "Elevate Me Later" later on the EP. The Pavement classic gets a Bossa nova treatment and the song actually works spectacularly well this way. Elsewhere, "A.M. 180" by Grandaddy gets slowed down dramatically until the song nearly turns into a Galaxie 500 number, while "True Love Will Find You In The End" by Daniel Johnston gets a proto-shoegaze makeover. It works too, as does closer "Smothered in Hugs". The Guided By Voices classic is gentler here, but it's still a tremendous hook, and Say Sue Me understand that and let the composition shine in a new way.
And, wisely, the band include new iterations of two of their own songs. "Bad Habit" and "Old Town" sit nicely next to so much American indie, and that says a lot. Say Sue Me can take their own distinctive sound and apply it to compositions by Malkmus and Johnston, for example, and still make the material chime in a fresh way.
10 by Say Sue Me is out now via Damnably.
[Photo: Nouir]