Tim: Tim Burton’s got a new film coming out in a few months, apparently; here’s this from the soundtrack, composed by Benjamin and sung by the Icelandic Disa. Before you push play: it is quite Tim Burton-y.
Tom: Takes a while to get going, but yes, you’re absolutely right, it’s Tim Burton-y,
Tim: Isn’t it? It’s a cover of a 1970 track by Mama Cass, and it couldn’t really sound more different. That is upbeat and jaunty, giving the impression that the new world will be happy and wonderful and, well, full of peace, joy and love. This keeps those lyrics, but you can’t quite help thinking that there’s a little more to it than that – much the same way that I Think We’re Alone Now goes from being a sexy banger to a really disturbing creepy number when you cut it down to half speed.
Tom: It also reminds me of Lorde’s absolutely spectacular cover of Everybody Wants To Rule The World. In fact, I think it suffers from that comparison: because I don’t know the original, and because it doesn’t have quite as much… well, “oomph” to it, I think I’m slightly set against it. There’s nothing actually wrong with it, it just sounds like a regular movie soundtrack song.
Tim: In any case, I think this is a wonderful interpretation – just her lovely but eerie vocal for the first minute, and then some magnificent backing instrumentation underneath following that. A middle eight that is decidedly unorthodox, but then bringing back the main line, slightly faster, for the closing part. It’s not one I’d put on regular rotation, because of the whole creepy factor, but it’s a lovely piece of work.