Denver-based duo New Latitude dropped their brand new, five-song EP last week; a collection of instrumental covers spanning the decades of pop music, cleverly titled Reimagined.
However, as its title suggests, this is far from your standard cover album. Acoustic guitarists Dave Erickson and Jim Carr team up with upright bassist Craig Akin, saxophonist Brian Counterman, and drummers Brian Hudson and Matias Menarguez to craft whimsical interpretations of songs originally penned by Chris Isaac, Sting, Billie Eilish, Don Henley, New Grass Revival and Yes.
Each sung melody is translated into blissful guitar lines which soothe and enchant against an easy-listening base, yet their delivery isn’t as straightforward as you might expect. The quirks of ‘Eleanor Rigby’ are accented in a jazzy mood; the heart-wrenching themes of ‘What Was I Made For’ ring vividly once stripped of its lyrics, whilst the high-speed riffs of ‘Metric Changes’ almost feel like an Iron Maiden hit in places, but rid of its distortions.
Crafted with dream-like atmospheres, eccentricities, and masterful instrumental skillset, New Latitude’s EP cleanly breaks the mould when it comes to instrumental pop, leaving us with one final verdict: Recommended.
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