Alex Winston – Basement Covers EP

If the best things in life are free, then surely this little gem of a complimentary download but must fall into that category. The Basement Covers EP features five tracks á la Alex Winston, a blossoming artist from Detroit, Michigan. And the girl doesn’t just sing – she played every instrument including drums, piano and guitar on the EP.

Slightly reminiscent of Sufjan Stevens instrumentally and with haunting vocals that would do Lykke Li or Feist proud, The Basement Covers EP is just a mouth watering teaser from a very promising young artist.  Her take on Jack Penate’s Pull My Heart Away earns the ultimate compliment for a cover – it’s better than the original. Sorry Jack. Likewise with the shiny, new and improved Mumford and Sons’ The Cave which is unique, stamped with Winston’s personality and creativity without being completely unrecognisable from the original.

Also getting the Winston treatment here are the Rolling Stones, Francis & the Lights and Teddy Bears, and each is worth a listen. Fantastically complex and quirky, you’ve paid money for worse records than this, so there’s no excuse not to give this a listen.

The first meeting of the Alex Winston Fan Club is now dismissed.

www.myspace.com/alexwinston