My first thought on seeing that Drakulas cover The Jim Carroll Band on this was, “Huh, that’s a weird choice.” But about 10-seconds in, everything clicks.
You see, Drakulas is a concept band, set in a dystopian, Warriors-esque world of broken streetlights, shenanigans, violence and smut. And, well, let’s just say that 1970s New York inspired a lot of that genre.
For the uninitiated, Drunk Dial Records is also a concept label. They ask bands to play one original song and one cover, both recorded under the influence and pressed on a 7”. We asked the label for the finer details in a recent interview. Anyway, in this case, you get one new Drakulas track and the cover.
Things start with original tune “Shame,” a new burner that fits their dark and atmospheric vibes perfectly. While the band has a finely tuned theme going on, their music itself (and the ideas within that theme) are raw and gritty, so it fits Drunk Dial perfectly. “Shame” is melodic r’n’r that wallows in self-loathing, but with some extra piss and vinegar, as they say. It’s no secret to people who follow vocalist Mike Wiebe’s various bands (Riverboat Gamblers) that he utilizes “whoa-oh” choruses a lot, and this one is no exception. When it works, it works. Case in point.
The B-side cover is “Three Sisters,” which first appeared in 1980 on Jim Carroll Band’s Catholic Boy. It’s relatively true to the original: a little more lo-fi and murky, yet contrarily melodic. There’s a subtle space rock undertone that shifts Carroll’s “true NYC stories” tone toward a more sci-fi world, but grim rather than cartoony. This is really a true-to-the-original cover and not a reinvention. It connects some musical dots for Drakulas in a way I hadn’t thought about, and it makes oh-so-much sense. It’s one of those songs where you can kind of tell it’s a cover right away, due to style shift from “Shame,” even if you don’t know the original.
If you want to get a feel for Drakulas, this 7” is a good place to start. Neither song are the absolute #1 things they’ve ever recorded, but it hits on the group’s style perfectly and offers a fun cover song that more people should know about, too.
