Devon Kay & The Solutions just dropped a suprising two track video game song cover EP. Devon Kay & the Solutions have always been an interesting band. The self acknowledged “world’s greatest band” made the subtle shift from “punk band with a horn section” to “punk band with a horn section recording a ska EP” on Bad Times Records and the world was forever changed.
In this new post ska EP world, everything is less predictable. I would have never predicted they would follow up their 5 track original ska song album with 2 more ska and punk covers of amazing video game songs on Ska Punk International. And when I say amazing video game songs, I mean it- these songs are ball-bangingly good. That’s a high bar to achieve. Perhaps a bar only reachable by the world’s greatest band. While a lesser band might not bother giving a name to a 2 song EP, and be satisfied to just refer to it as two singles, or as an unnamed EP, Devon Kay & the Solutions is no lesser band. So, allow me to present “Devon Kay & the Solutions & Knuckles” the greatest name for the greatest two song video game cover song EP in the history of the world.
I am not a big video game person. I’m just a big person who doesn’t play many video games, so I assumed these would be songs I was unfamiliar with. But, shockingly, even someone as unhip and out of the loop as me was familiar with both songs- although I did have to go back to and listen to the originals again after listening to the album for the first time to re-familiarize myself with them. Doing so made me appreciate the originals and the covers even more.
The first song is “Still Alive” from portal. The original is amazing, but the Solutions give it their own flavor, which, of course, includes speeding up the tempo, but also, the change in vocals gives it a completely different feel. It doesn’t feel quite as impersonal and feels less literal and more real. I love this track.
The second track, and the reason for the “& Knuckles” name for the EP, is “Escape from the City” from Sonic Adventure 2, and while the ska was cranked up 20%, this song is so fucking good and still accurate to the original and you might not even notice. What you will notice is the increase in tempo, and nobody will ever blame you for speeding up a Sonic the Hedgehog song- nothing in this world is more fitting. So I beg You, go check out these songs and try to tell me they’re not ball-bangingly good- and then ask yourself “where does Devon Kay & the Solutions go from here”. I’m sure it won’t be long before we find out.
Written by Gimpleg
