Review: Various Artists – Fearless Records presents: Punk Goes Pop Volume 5
Artist: Various
Album: Punk Goes Pop Volume 5
Rating: 3.5/5
Tracklist:
1. Grenade (Originally by Bruno Mars) – Memphis May Fire
2. Call Me Maybe (Originally by Carly Rae Jepsen) – Upon This Dawning
3. Somebody That I Used to Know (Originally by Gotye ft. Kimbra) – Mayday Parade (feat. Vic Fuentes of Pierce the Veil)
4. Glad You Came (Originally by The Wanted) – We Came As Romans
5. Some Nights (Originally by fun.) – Like Moths to Flames
6. Billie Jean (Originally by Michael Jackson) – Breathe Carolina
7. We Found Love (Originally by Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris) – Forever the Sickest Kids
8. Boyfriend (Originally by Justin Bieber) – Issues
9. Payphone (Originally by Maroon 5 ft. Wiz Khalifa) – Crown the Empire
10. Girls Just Want to Have Fun (Originally by Cyndi Lauper) – The Maine (feat. Adam Lazarra of Taking Back Sunday)
11. Paradise (Originally by ColdPlay) – Craig Owens
12. Mercy (Originally by Kanye West featuring Big Sean, Pusha T, and 2 Chainz) – The Word Alive
13. Ass Back Home (Gym Class Heroes feat. Neon Hitch) – SECRETS
Since it’s inception, the compilation series known as Punk Goes… has put out 13 albums: Punk Goes Metal, Punk Goes Pop Volumes 1-5, Punk Goes Acoustic Volumes 1 & 2, Punk Goes 80’s and 90’s, Punk Goes Crunk, Punk Goes Classic Rock and Punk Goes X. The latest of these, released today, has some of my personal favorites as well as, in my opinion, some of the worst in the series so far. With upcoming bands like Crown the Empire (signed to Rise Records last year), Upon This Dawning & SECRETS as well as seasoned vets like Mayday Parade, Forever the Sickest Kids, and The Maine, this album has a little bit for everyone to love.
Hits:
Payphone (Originally by Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa) by Crown the Empire: I love the way these guys did this cover. They added that unique CTE spin to keep it from being a boring cover as well as keeping it pretty close to the original. I love everything these guys do and this cover just blew me away. Definitely one of my favorites.
Billie Jean (Originally by Michael Jackson) by Breathe Carolina: This duo has always found a way to impress me. Everything they do has a dance-a-long quality to it. Now this one is closer to the original (with a scream or two here and there) but they still added that electronic feel to it to make it even more danceable. Big props to them for doing a Michael Jackson cover and nailing it!
Somebody That I Used to Know (Originally by Gotye ft. Kimbra) by Mayday Parade (featuring Vic Fuentes): Mayday Parade are no strangers to this series as they have done In My Head (Originally by Jason Derulo) for Volume 3, We Are the Champions (originally by Queen) for Punk Goes Classic Rock, When I Grow Up (originally by The PussyCat Dolls) for Volume 2, and made their debut to the series with Three Cheers for Five Years (Acoustic) for Acoustic Volume 2. These guys nail the hell out of any cover they touch and this is no exception. Making the song even BETTER though is the addition of Vic Fuentes’ unique high vocals. I definitely recommend listening to this one first if you haven’t heard any of the rest of the songs.
Grenade (Originally by Bruno Mars) by Memphis May Fire: This is the group’s first ever cover and they knocked it out of the park and then some! Not often can you add their type of music to an R&B type song and get a good result. Matty Mullins vocals are beautiful and stand out greatly for this one!
Not-So-Hits:
We Found Love (Originally by Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris) by Forever the Sickest Kids: I’ve never been quite impressed by this band, but all bad feelings about this band aside, this cover was a total miss. There may be some who enjoy it, but to me, it was more cookie-cutter than anything. They could have tried a bit harder on this one.
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Originally by Cyndi Lauper) by The Maine feat. Adam Lazarra of Taking Back Sunday: This series has always kept just enough of the original sound to make it fun but not completely change the song. This is the first song I’ve heard on it that has not stuck to that. This song was INCREDIBLY different and I think they would have done a bit better by sticking a little closer to the original. That’s not to say that I don’t like The Maine, they are a great pop-punk band and I would never deny that to anyone. They just should have rethought the way this cover was done.
Paradise (Originally by ColdPlay) by Craig Owens: Now this destroyed my heart, EVERYTHING Craig Owens has ever touched to me has turned to gold in my eyes. This cover is silver at best. It was way too boring and monotone. He always spices things up with his soulful voice and in this one, he just really didn’t. His vocals in this song were incredible though, just needs a bit more of his unique vocal style.
Final Thoughts:
Some good, some bad, some in-between but overall, this compilation is well worth the buy. Whether you’re buying it for just a few covers or if you happen to like all of the songs on it. Fearless Records have always done a good job at choosing what bands will go on the compilation and the bands do a good job of choosing what songs they will cover. For that, I have always loved the Punk Goes… series of albums. Go pick up your copy of Punk Goes Pop Volume 5 and see what all the fuss is about!
