The 90’s – a decade of music that has garnered mixed attitudes. The realms of Alternative music in the 90’s in retrospect is a cloud of bohemia that is alien to where we are now in 2015. Boston’s Vanna have have curated the ’Alt’ cover EP riddled with the anthems that of the guilty pleasures you always try to remember to forget.
Vanna take a slice of the corner of each world and reshapes it under a guise that is recognizable to their fans. Their rendition of Marilyn Manson’s ‘Beautiful People’ encapsulates the mechanical industrial charm and shows off throat vocalist Davey Muise emulating Manson’s slithering cadence while also bringing a new flare to that famous inquisition in the chorus. Korn’s ‘Got The Life’ allows Vanna to make use of the nu metal warlords trademark trailing electronic sound as the band indulge in the siren phaser and digitalized breakbeats.
The self-deprecating ‘Self Esteem’ makes an appearance amongst the heavier tracks where co-vocalist/guitarist Joel Pastuszak delivers a polarizing vocal performance as his voice establishes a new claim of legitimacy. The guitars are drenched in a grunge sludge that distorts this pop punk classic. Vanna’s success of creating a resonance on ‘Self Esteem’ speaks on how the perils of having low self esteem transcends through a generation of “dweebs.”
’Alt’ will find a home between the tangible and digital shelves of those glutton for ambitious hardcore covers, similar in the vein of Evergreen Terrace’s ‘Writer’s Block’. Vanna’s production throughout ‘Alt’ is flawless where the grit of every inch of the instrumentation is full. Vanna’s ‘Fuel’ stamps on the famously shunned desk production of the famous ‘Reload’. Muise is triumphant in conquering the distinct vocal adlibs of Mr Hetfield and recovers his tracks with a fluctuating roar. It is however on the Smashing Pumpkin’s ’Zero’ where Vanna appear most comfortable. Muise forces his throat-scraping command in between the famous clamping riff to a height that arrests the turmoil and angst that ’Zero’ is constructed from.
On ‘Alt’, Vanna successfully compile a collection of covers that accurately recreates the grip the hard rock world and commercial-fringed pop punk had within the 90’s.
4.5/5
’Alt’ EP by Vanna is released on 2nd October on Pure Noise Records.
Words by Aaron Akeredolu (@boymostlikelyto)
