More Pop More Style: The PWEINATION Cover Project 2

[payback3000]

https://m.mixcloud.com/payback3000/the- ... ser-mix-2/

Second and final teaser mix...

[russelldempsey]

[kwvp]

Sounding really good. Like that version of Eat Me Drink Me Love Me Kill Me.

[payback3000]

[kwvp]

I really like those Seek & Destroy and Sweet Sweet Pie remixes too. Can’t quite work out where one ends and the other starts from the edit, but great groove to both of them.

[Stubborn Puppet]

Fuckin' Straight Up Aces everyone!

[payback3000]

At time of writing only 10 of the 100 copies are still available.

[kwvp]

[payback3000]

7 left!

[kwvp]

I'm delighted to be part of this covers project. Here's my thoughts on the tracks after a few listens through the album since Friday:

1. Poison to the Mind - Carts Before Horses
Great start to the album. The Poison sample very much in the spirit of PWEI, and I’m a big fan of the CBH guitar sound generally. And leads perfectly in to...

2. Eat Me Drink Me Love Me Kill Me - Johnny Bleu
Awesome, from the first beat. I got into the Poppies a bit late to witness Fuzz’s arrival, but listening to The Looks Or The Lifestyle now makes me think how it must have been to hear the drums come in after England’s Finest, and the Johnny Bleu version takes that feeling even further. Great vocal performance. Love the guitar. I've listened to this track over and over since Friday.

3. 100% Is **it - Divided Front
I’m glad that something from A Lick Of The Old Cassette Box was covered. I like the sort of swampy, dirty guitar. The lo-fi combined bass/guitar and drums reminds me a bit of Royal Blood. Good stuff.

4. Dance of the Mad Bastards - King Brown vs Project 13
Great collaboration. Completely reimagined from the original but keeping some of my favourites including the bassline and the big guitar strums.
The 70s/funk samples give it a really good groove, and I’m a big fan of King Brown’s vocals.

5. Psychosexual - The Penny Licks
What a beautiful, calm, almost dream-like island this is in the middle of all the chaos. A perfect tune. Gave me goosebumps the first time I heard it. A wonderful tune and vocal. Worth getting the album just for a chance to hear this track.

6. Wasted - 7eventy6ix
Love the layers in this. The frantic beats, the chunky broken guitar, and ethereal synth. Spent much of the weekend dancing around the kitchen to it.

7. 88 Seconds... Still Counting - The Noon Day Gun
One of the stand-out tracks for me. Great reworking of the original, arrangement and production. But what really does it for me is the new lyrics and use of samples - scary how relevant it is now. Spot-on use of Trump. The two lines “the klan are the dregs, a nasty business” and “it’s puke from the face of white insecurity, nuke the church of racial impurity” hold as much meaning as ever. Proud to be on the same album as this track.

8. Black Country Chainstore Massacre - Stuart Estell
I’ve always really liked this song. I love the vocal performance on this version and the acoustic guitar. A real song-a-long classic.

9. Mesmerised - Brumcast
The old school PWEI journey continues. I really enjoy this thrash romp, and the distorted bass. Just under a minute and a half and it’s all done. Marvellous.

10. Devil Inside - Divided Front
It’s only in writing these notes that I’ve realised Divided Front did both this and 100% - two very different sounding tracks. The downbeat minor key take on this track is a really nice variation, which I like with the stripped back electric guitar.

11. There Is No Love Between Us Anymore - Superfrank
The samples alone make this track. Love it!

12. Touched By The Hand Of Cicciolina (part 1) - HOBBS
This version is almost trancey in places. I like the stripped back, almost disassembled take, especially when it drops to just the glockenspiel sound, then the swirling synth pad.

13. Touched By The Hand Of Cicciolina (part 2) - Section 3
I wanted to do something really different with this version and was in two minds about adding the vocals, but felt a bit inspired by the Orb remix of Home, which turned it into a completely new track. The lyrics are basically a tribute to PWEI and the path it’s set me on, with Cicciolina being the song that first got me into the Poppies: i.e. being touched by the hand of ‘Touched By The Hand Of Cicciolina’ if you like. Verse 1: getting into the band, with some of the deeper lyrics and song themes resonating. Verse 2: a love for UK music sowing the seed for a move from Chicago to the UK, told through PWEI and Clint Mansell score track titles, with a bit of artistic license about being inspired by Ilona Staller’s move into politics. And verse 3 some of the events, experiences and perspectives that have stemmed from a love of PWEI (and of course a name check to Alison, Tezzer, Shep and Jon from my first steps on http://kzsu.stanford.edu/uwi/pwei/ )
I must thank Chris for the job he’s done on the mixing and mastering - the album version sounds much more balanced than my mix, so thank you. And I can imagine the vocals won’t be to everyone’s liking, so thanks Payback for putting the instrumental version on the Covers EP too.

14. Watch The Bitch Blow - The PWEINATION Allstars
Samples, rumbling synths, King Brown’s spoken intro. and phat guitars. What’s not to like?

15. Dub Me Down - Divided Front meets Project 13
Really like the dubby, spacey treatment by Project 13. Turned it into a completely different track.

16. Wise Up! Sucker (CBH GBH remix) - Jason & Paul vs the Vocal Minority
I know this version from the Wise Up! Sucker EP release a couple of years back. Great vocals by Floz, great production and guitars. Really like the way the second verse comes in. The whole thing sounds awesome.

17. Sweet Sweet Pie (Project 13 Remix) - Carts Before Horses
Wow! Starts off like a techno fairground ride, and progresses to being like Part Man Part Machine in places: I love when the beat picks up at 2.08 and 2.25. Great remix of a great cover.

18. Seek & Destroy (Carts Before Horses remix) - Project 13
And now CBH return the favour with a great remix of Seek & Destroy. From the blips on the vocal at the start, to the added guitar riffs and the builds, it’s an epic remix.

19. PWEI-zation (Section 3 PWEI-bomination mix) - Bronx Zoo
I really enjoyed remixing this track. Reversed the backwards Mars sample, made the most of the samples and added one small additional keyboard part, then other than that just had great fun picking out elements from the original.


It’s a great job by all involved. I’m very proud to be a part of it. Thank you Payback for all the effort in putting it together, and I can’t wait to receive the physical copy.