Various Artists

Army Of Me: Remixes and Covers (One Little Indian)

By Amber Drea
Published: July 13th, 2005 | 12:15pm

This CD compiles 20 versions of Björk’s most popular-to-cover song, “Army Of Me.” Hand-picked by the Icelandic singer herself and co-writer Graham Massey from over 600 submissions, the genres range from Greek modern classical to bubble-gum synth-pop programmed on a Playstation 2. The result is a collection of interesting, layered, and — at times — highly innovative interpretations. You almost wouldn’t know they were all based on a single composition.

Amazingly, many of the tracks were created within the week deadline given at the project’s announcement on Björk’s Web site rather than being pulled from pre-existing recordings. For instance, Patrick Wolf, who is probably the most well-known artist on the comp, put together his gothic industrial, Klaus Nomi–inspired version within hours. Besides the three somewhat redundant heavy metal tracks, two Ö?.which were recorded years ago, the remainder of the album consists of impressive renditions. German producer Jean-Michel’s trancey remix is sure to be a dance floor hit, and the tribal electro-punk take by NYC-based R. Luvbeats features a vocal style similar to that of Jennifer from The Rogers Sisters. Atoi’s cover could have been on Vespertine, and the collaboration by Swedish band 50hertz and friends is super fun, though far removed from Björk’s original. Other standouts include Grisbi’s French romantic ballad, Alfredo Lietor’s Soft Pink Truth mash-up, and Lunamoth’s creepy string arrangement.

The proceeds from all sales go to UNICEF’s tsunami disaster relief, but even if they didn’t, this compilation would still be worth the cash.