The Days of Lore

Alela Diane loses her head

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009 | musiX, pdX | 1 Comment

If you haven’t heard Alela Diane by now, shame on you. If you haven’t heard Headless Heroes, well, OK. The latter is a new-ish project featuring a cast of musicians—including Diane—performing songs from Daniel Johnston, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Nick Cave as well as some more obscure ’60s tunes by British songstress Vashti Bunyan, British singer-songwriter Philamore Lincoln and California folk duo The Gentle Soul.

The record—The Silence of Love—came out in the UK in November of last year, and will be be released in the U.S. and Canada May 19 on World’s Fair. The Headless Heroes versions don’t simply ape the originals. It’s less folky than Diane’s solo work, but her vocals are still the centerpiece, given even more weight with the lusher production. A few of the songs on The Silence of Love are pretty nondescript, but I’m liking the versions of The Jesus & Mary Chain’s “Just Like Honey” and especially Lincoln’s “The North Wind Blew South.” The videos are cool, too.

“True Love Will Find You In the End” - Headless Heroes (Daniel Johnston cover)

Video for Headless Heroes’ cover of “Just Like Honey”

Video for “The North Wind Blew South”

Tags: Alela Diane, Daniel Johnston, Headless Heroes, Nick Cave, Philamore Lincoln, The Gentle Soul, The Jesus & Mary Chain, The Silence of Love, Vashti Bunyan, World's Fair