Inertia - Kloned

Title: Kloned
Artist: Inertia
Genre: EBM Industrial
Release Date: 22nd February 2010
Label: Cryonica Music



Album Review

Cover albums are shaky ground for a lot of bands no matter what calibre. Some tracks can adapt easily to a band’s style, others have to be done straight - and if you don’t set out to make the track your own then what’s the point in covering it? Even London’s EBM darlings and GARY NUMAN approved INERTIA don’t always get it right. They attack a wide range of material such as T-Rex, The Beatles, Falco, Nick Cave, and Duran Duran, and while excellently performed a few still manage to counter the band’s efforts.

‘Children of the Revolution’ gets a funky electro re-styling here - the T-Rex classic being so pop orientated that it couldn’t fail to work as an INERTIA song. ‘Monarchy Now’ feels like a pretty straight cover at first but the electronic groove and female vocals give it a lease of new life. ‘Late Bar’ doesn’t feel all that different from Duran Duran’s original - sure the synths are more advanced but that’s kind of where the band leaves it. ‘Something’ is an interesting one to cover as a cold minimal electro track… It doesn’t work for me though, which is a shame because this would really suite ‘Across the Universe’ more. ‘Cool Places’ again feels like it’s just been updated rather than adapted by the band but it’s still really infectious.

‘Flexible’ is the obligatory Depeche Mode cover - I know every band in the universe has covered a DM track, and I know an electronic band could only update what was already there… BUT INERTIA performs this one with real gusto so it works. ‘Heaven on their Minds’ sounds very different from its Jesus Christ Superstar origins, more like a Depeche Mode song actually. ‘Bloodletting…’ is a nice all synth reworking of the original but not all that remarkable. ‘Where the Wild Roses’ again, like ‘Something’ before it is a nice idea but it doesn’t really work, whereas a track like ‘Song of Joy’ may have been more suited. ‘Mystery Train’ is a very smart cover, with the Elvis original now sounding like an EBM dance floor classic. The final stop on Inertia’s journey is ‘God’s Child’ which like ‘Mystery Train’ before it is unrecognizable from the original thanks to Inertia’s stamp.

This was a brave move from the band, a move they didn’t need to make but one I’m glad of. Songs like ‘Children of the Revolution’, ‘Flexible’, ‘Heaven on their Minds’ and ‘God’s Child’ really show off the best of what Inertia can do as a band. The rest of the tracks all work well in the band’s style even if they don’t stray too far from the shore. With maybe a couple of exceptions that I’m not convinced of this album is definitely worth a listen.


Tracklist

01. Children of the Revolution
02. Monarchy Now
03. Late Bar
04. Something
05. Cool Places
06. Flexible
07. Heaven on their Minds
08. Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)
09. Where the Wild Roses Grow
10. Mystery Train
11. God’s Child


Line-up

Reza Udhin
Alexys B
Andrew Trail
Bob Malkowski


Websites

http://www.inertia.gs/ / www.myspace.com/inertia001


Cover Picture




Rating

Music: 7
Sound: 8
Extras: -
Total: 7.5 / 10


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