Covering someone else’s entire record is a bad idea ten times out of ten. But reworking a classic like Black Flag’s Damaged from “memory and intuition” is downright insane. Yet Brooklyn experimental pop deconstructionists The Dirty Projectors have done just that. The result is called Rise Above, and it’s more like a film loosely based on true events than it is a faithful album of cover versions. While all the songs are technically present, the arrangements vary wildly to put it mildly. Any trace of the punk rock inherent to the original title track has been tossed out the window, as bandleader Dave Longstreth imbues it with a mish-mash of eclecticism and expansive melody. Anyone familiar with the original will undoubtedly be shocked and awed by both the similarities and the differences. (via Punknews)

Stream “Rise Above” here.