Punk Goes Pop
Volume 4
Fearless Records
By: Nevra Azerkan
Rating: Rating:
I’m a big fan of the Punk Goes Pop series. Volumes 1-3 had bands like Yellowcard, Thrice, Artist vs Poet, The Cab, Mayday Parade and A Day to Remember covering songs from Michelle Branch, P!nk, Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga and many others. The thing with the Punk Goes Pop compilations is that you can either despise the original and love the cover or love the original and love the cover even more. Any other combination rarely happens. So I was eagerly awaiting Volume 4 to see what awesomness it brought.
Track listing on Punk Goes Pop Volume 4 includes: 1. Pierce The Veil – “Just The Way You Are” (originally by Bruno Mars) , 2. Tonight Alive – “Little Lion Man” (originally by Mumford & Sons), 3. Woe, Is Me – “Last Friday Night” (originally by Katy Perry), 4. The Ready Set – “Roll Up” (originally by Wiz Khalifa), 5. Sleeping With Sirens – “F**k You” (originally by Cee Lo Green), 6. Go Radio – “Rolling In The Deep” (originally by Adele), 7. For All Those Sleeping – “You Belong With Me” (originally by Taylor Swift), 8. Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! – “We R Who We R” (originally by Ke$ha) , 9. A Skylit Drive – “Love the Way You Lie” (originally by Eminem and Rihanna) , 10. Allstar Weekend – “Yeah 3X” (originally by Chris Brown), 11. I See Stars – “Till The World Ends” (originally by Britney Spears) , 12. Silverstein – “Runaway” (originally by Kanye West and Pusha T), and 13. The Downtown Fiction – “Super Bass” (originally by Nicki Minaj).
Hands down my favorite cover on this volume is “Rolling In The Deep” by Go Radio. It still holds the true essence of the song, but yet they managed to make it all their own. I will admit this track was seriously on repeat until I forced myself to continue listening to the rest. Other notable tracks include: “Just The Way You Are” (Pierce The Veil), “F**K You” (Sleeping With Sirens), “Yeah 3x” (Allstar Weekend), “Till the World Ends” (I See Stars) and “Super Bass” (The Downtown Fiction).
This is definitely not my favorite edition of Punk Goes Pop, but it’s not mediocre either. I would have loved to see more well-known bands like in previous editions. In Volumes 1-3 I knew almost all, if not all, of the bands featured. When newer bands are introduced, the first song you want to hear from them is an original song not a cover. Also, it kills the curiosity you have when wanting to hear what your favorite punk bands come up with when covering a pop song.
Overall, there are some good covers on Volume 4, but if you’re hoping it will exceed previous volumes you may be disappointed. However, Punk Goes Pop Volume 4 is still worth getting if not just for the tracks by Go Radio, The Downtown Fiction and Allstar Weekend.
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