Hey, You Wanna Take a Ride In Kris Delmhorst's Cars?

 

Aaaaaand here's the last part of our impromptu Cars appreciation week here at One Buck Records, appropriately titled Cars. That is of course because it's a tribute from former-Brooklynite-adopted-Bostonian Kris Delmhorst to one of the city's premier bands. To do the songs of Ocasek & Co. justice, modern-day folkie Delmhorst has invited a ton nof musical friends to pump new life into these songs, folks like fellow Bostonian (and then-labelmate) Mark Erelli on Lap Steel and backing vocals or classically trained bass player and producer Zack Hickman, mainly known for collaborating with Josh Ritter. As a special bonus, she also gets original Car Greg Hawkes to play some Ukulele on the album! 

As a matter of fact, it's the musical coloring that Delmhorst and her assembled crew do, that makes the difference. The songs are great, obviously, but Delmhorst and collaborators add all the bells and whisteles – sometimes literally – that make Cars thoroughly enjoyable: From Penny Whistle to Clarinet to Banjo to Mandolin to Laura Cortese's very present fiddle, there's a ton of interesting stuff going on here musically, that saves this from being a nicely meant but underwhelming tribute. “You Might Think“ is paced by a fiddlepart that I love, while “Shake It Up” gets a New Orleans Brass Band—style arrangement and “Magic” transforms from a giddy pop song into a delicate ballad. 

On “Why Can't I Have You” Delmhorst brings the speed way down and the moodiness way up. “Tonight She Comes” with accordion and fiddle sounds like a folk song, though the lively group vocals betray its original perfect pop side, while “You Wear Those Eyes” gets a slightly jazzy makeover. Drive is probably the most conventional covr here, and while the song stays beautiful, Delmhorst doesn't do much of note with it. But sometimes a faithful cover is a-okay also, I guess.

Cars is a very fine album that gives a new spin and shine to these Cars warhorses, and Delmhorst's love for the band and the originals celearly shines through. The band gets a 'thank you for the summer of '84' credit, when Heartbreak City blew up and presumably led young Kris to the Cars. Consequently, she covers all five of that album's singles. Anyhow, full speed ahead for some nice reimaginings of some of the band's biggest and best...