Chicago based Red Spot Rhythm Section have been reimagining well-known songs as a side dish for their own material. Led by musician and arranger Joshua Siegal their offer a blend of roots, reggae, soul and ska which is very danceable. On their new single they cover two tracks that were big in the '80s: Soft Cell's Tainted Love (in itself a cover of the 1964 single sung by Gloria Jones) and The Cure's Boys Don't Cry.
For Tainted Love Siegal opted for an organ-driven, fast-paced delivery, with Claire Liparulo on vocals. It works quite well, although it lacks the anger and frustration that made Soft Cell's version the definitive one. Boys Don't Cry is slow and soulful. It's easy to picture singer Erthe St. James dressed in a sharp suit, fronting the band on TV shows like Soul Train or American Bandstand.
Tainted Love b/w Boys Don't Cry is a self-released single. Buy it from their website. Release date: May 6.
» redspotrhythmsection.com
