REVIEW: ‘Scala & Kolacny Brothers’

Anyone who was hypnotized by the melodic choir version of Radiohead’s “Creep” in the trailer for The Social Network last fall will know who Scala and Kolacny Brothers are. The Belgian all girls’ choir perform conducted by Stijn Kolacny and arranged and accompanied by Steven Kolacny on the piano cover and perform original work that takes rock and pop songs and puts a new spin on them.

“Creep” is one of their breakthrough performances into mass media and the group’s self-titled release ads in some memorable renditions of popular songs with some mixed results.

Starting with the spectacular is the aforementioned “Creep” and the Foo Fighters cover “Everlong”. The song has such peace behind Dave Grohl’s awesome vocals that the real essence of the lyrics comes out in this version of the song. The Oasis cover, “Champagne Supernova” and Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody” are also very well done, easy to listen to and engaging.

A few tracks don’t work as well as their brethren. The cover of Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic” just doesn’t sound right and Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” just isn’t quite the same song without the pulsating guitars behind the lyrics. That doesn’t mean that each song won’t have its fans, it just means in this reviewer’s opinions the originals would just have a hard time being covered in a convincing manner.

In the end, the album is a great collection of some extremely popular songs with new life breathed into them in a very unconventional manner. “Creep” paved the way for Scala into our homes, this album is a great way to prop the door open for new material to come our way.

Score: B