Anya Plaschg, the Austrian artist who records as Soap & Skin, has been doing her own thing since the mid-noughties, but this new album pays tribute to her diverse influences over the years.
There’s a pretty faithful cover of Bowie’s dark, dense ‘Girl Loves Me’, and a sweet cover of Sufjan Steven’ ‘Mystery of Love’, but she seems to coast through The Doors’ ‘The End’, which lacks the grandeur and menace of both the original, and Nico’s version.
There are even a couple of unlikely choices in Shirley Bassey’s ‘Born To Lose’ and Desireless’ Europop banger ‘Voyage Voyage’ slowed down to a moody, funereal pace.
Plaschg has a wonderful voice, and the more electronic side of her music suits her minimalist approach, but this feels comfortable rather than boundary pushing. It’s nice enough, pretty background music, but somewhat inessential. Her own music is far more interesting.
Out on November 222nd via Play It Again Sam Records
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