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DeftonesB-Sides & Rarities Maverick/Warner With each release Deftones move further away from the nu-metal tag they were burdened with a decade ago. While Coal Chamber and Limp Bizkit have imploded and godheads Korn deteriorated into a bad joke, Chino Moreno and band have worked steadily to clear their name, releasing heavy music that's passionate, thought-provoking and drowning in vulnerability. Their take on the Helmet classic Sinatra neatly encapsulates what they do so well: its clinical quality is supplanted by a warmth and tangibility that immediately distance it from the original. Sade's No Ordinary Love, built on a groove that threatens to break open but never does, creates an unsettling energy compounded by Moreno's delivering of the title as a virtual threat. These two tracks are also a neat example of the extremes Deftones cover. Their love of New Wave and New Romantic groups is evident as they cover The Cure, The Smiths, Duran Duran and Cocteau Twins. Not every song works: the dirge-like Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd) is on the wrong side of average, as is Black Moon, an original collaboration with B-Real of Cypress Hill. Around this are acoustic versions of the band's Change (In The House Of Flies), Digital Bath and Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away), all of which are worthy but fall short of the originals. In true Deftones style, 'B-Sides & Rarities' is as likely to confound as it is to delight. It displays unlikely influences, brave decisions and some indication of what to expect in the future. It also puts clear daylight between the band and the words 'nu metal', and you get the impression that may have been the purpose of the collection all along.  |
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