Current Joys, a notoriously depressing band amongst teenagers, released an album recently. Just shy of a month ago on Feb. 25, 2022, Covers From Across the Sea appeared on new release radars, but what is the point of an album with six songs? 

In Covers From Across the Sea, different artists from the world express their twists and interpretations of previously released songs by Current Joys. The unique nature of this album makes it seem really cool, but there wasn’t enough time for the artists’ talent to be truly expressed. 

It’s structured similarly to The Metallica Blacklist. The album is a rendition of Metallica’s The Black Album, where they had multiple artists record their spin on one of the many influential songs. There was no flow or pattern with each variation of the songs, but that’s what these types of albums deter from. 

From a broader point of view, The Metallica Blacklist is a work of art. Over 60 different artists covered the 11 songs on the original revolutionary album. I love hearing all the stark styles and popular artists allowing themselves to experiment with music in a tremendous way. However, Current Joys’ take on the album expression is an interesting one, teetering between a waste of my time and unoriginality. 

The opening song was fun, but the cover sounded a lot like the original—bland. “Dancer in the Dark (Anika Version)” was too plain for me. It was missing the spunk and personality I wanted to hear, and in all honesty, I prefer Current Joys’ version. 

“Dancer in the Dark” isn’t that great of a song in the first place. It’s a huge outlier compared to the rest of their music and a “filler” song for their latest album: Voyager. There’s nothing about “Dancer in the Dark (Anika Version)” that drives me to keep listening, but the best song on the album, “American Honey (Golden Dregs Version),” follows behind it on the tracklist. 

Golden Dregs is a perfect fit for this song. It sounds so natural for them to sing “American Honey,” and the cover exudes cozy cabin in the country vibes. If it weren’t for me being scared of the open country and open woods, I would want that exact scenario to be my reality. 

“American Honey (Golden Dregs Version)” was the only song I liked, and to me, that makes me sad. I really love Current Joys. Their music style is abstract and unique, and all of their music contradicts generic radio pop. Current Joys is the epitome of contemporary indie music, and they rule the lives of edgy teenagers today. 

I’m not mad at the artists, I assume. I guess I’m mad at Current Joys for releasing music a little different than what was previously put out. The title implies an album so grandiose and vibrant. Introductions to music styles and genres from across the Atlantic seemed too exciting and unrealistic. These artists are from the UK. There is nothing ‘across the sea’ to this aside from the obvious fact: they’re across the Atlantic. 

I don’t want to listen to electronic music from South London as the cover for “Voyager Pt 2.” I really liked that song, and it was the only song I liked on Voyager. “Voyager Pt 2 (Goat Girl Version)” is that one song—that one song that you just agree to always skip because of its gaudy nature. The six-song disaster ends after the most disastrous song, “Voyager Pt 2 (Goat Girl Version).” I tried to like it, but I couldn’t tolerate it.

There is no target audience. There is no real twist as suggested by the title. It is just six songs, and none of them begin to complement each other like The Metallica Blacklist.