CALL OFF THE SEARCH

 

There’s a fine and noble tradition of great bands and artists covering songs by their inferiors. My personal favourite is Travis’ version of Britney Spears’ “Hit Me Baby One More Time”. I’m also a big fan of The Divine Comedy’s version of The Queens of the Stone Age classic “No one Knows” (though I suspect I may be in a minority there).

Of course, this is a two way street. There’s the obvious example of Matt Cardle’s efforts with a Biffy Clyro tune, or the travesty that was Mark Ronson’s mutilation of “Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before”. And don’t get me started on The Scissor Sisters murdering Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb”. That resulted in months of therapy for me.

And so we come to Kent’s very own Call Off The Search and their cover of Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream”. Russell Brand’s beau is the latest in a long stream of princesses of bubblegum pop. Hers is the kind of the music that gets tweenie boppers jumping around and adolescent boys feeling slightly confused.

Call Off The Search, meanwhile, are proponents of bubblegum pop’s older, sneering brother, Punk Rock. Punk Rock has all the catchiness and bounciness of its sibbling. It’s just this time it’s done with big sounding power chords, fast guitars, faster drums and shouty vocals.

So, for such a band to cover a Katy Perry song is a fairly logical step. The existence of a YouTube video matching the Call Off The Search to the original (complete with almost perfect lip syncing from Ms. Perry) shows how simple the transformation was.

A comparison of the two songs could form the basis of a rather dull sociology essay in the portrayal of male and female roles in the media – or something like that. While Katy Perry’s original is delivered with a kind of breathy coquettishness, Call Off The Search’s version delivers an onslaught of primal virility. It’s full of grunting masculine assertiveness designed to not just get the girl but send the beta males packing too.

I should probably stop soon before I end up sounding too much like David Attenborough.

Teenage Dreams as covered by Call Off The Search is a hedonistic partying riot of a song. It wouldn’t seem that out of place on the soundtrack of a Californian teen drama or gross out comedy. Once they start showing the ads for American Pie 4 try turning the sound down and turn this tune up. I can pretty much guarantee it’ll work.

So, all told, not too bad. A good, solid, adrenaline fuelled anthem to chant along to at the next Call Off The Search gig. And that can never be a bad thing.

Next time I’ll be considering Dartford’s famous sons Keith Richards and Mick Jagger and their brand new cover of Rebecca Black’s “Friday”.

Sorry. That’s not actually true.

 

 

24/03/2011 • Teenage Dream Single Review

By Stephen Morris • Photos by

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