What happens when you take the synth out of your favorite pop banger, the warm crinkle of an iconic vocal from a soulful lover’s plea, or the sass out of a disco country kiss-off? The thing with cover songs is that if you’re removing the thing that made the original so special, you had better be injecting something new, a life force to keep it breathing. The best covers succeed when, upon hearing them, you might even forget their origin, instead wondering why they sound familiar, yet new. This is mostly the result of Kissing Other People, a collaborative project between friends Rachel Baiman and the duo Viv & Riley, which was born from sharing a van on tour together, bonding over their favorite songs. The resulting eight-song collection plays like something entirely new, boosted by the strength of Baiman’s full-throated wail and the light-touch harmonies of Viv & Riley.
ALBUM REVIEW: The Art of the Cover, Laid Bare on Baiman and Viv & Riley Collaboration, ‘Kissing Other People’
