Adem - Takes

Adem Ilhan is a British indie-folk musician of Turkish origin, whose background includes membership in Fridge (an early band of Kieran Hebden later known as Four Tet). As a multi-instrumentalist he plays all of the instruments himself, often utilizing various broken instruments rescued from flea market. Takes is Adem's tribute album to his favorite music from 1991-2001. He has taken on reputable indie heavyweights such as PJ Harvey, dEUS, Yo La Tengo, Breeders etc, but also Aphex Twin, Tortoise and Björk. The most interesting cover song is his rendition of Aphex Twin's "To Cure A Weakling Child/Boy Girl Song", which is very reminiscent of Penguin Cafe Orchestra. "Gamera" from post-rock eclectics Tortoise becomes a John Fahey-esque acoustic guitar number. Mostly the covers here sound like indie rock anthems unplugged. Although well done, occasionally the record veers into boredom and in general the cover/tribute albums can safely be written off as curious projects rather than endeavors on par with albums containing original material.

*This review was published in Estonian in a journal called Postimees. This is the English translation