Truly an diverse EP from a diverse mix.

French cover band Nouvelle Vague has released a new EP, Athol Brose. Duo Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux along with various artists (singers Camille, Phoebe Killdeer, Nadeah, Melanie Pain and Liset Alea) bring quite a diverse EP of four tracks from bossa-nova vibes to dark spacey moods in their first release since 2010.

Starting the EP is “Athol Brose,” a nice and mellow acoustic guitar track perfect for BGM at a café. Whispering “very, very silly boy” in a slightly sexual way, the song maintains an uplifting café vibe and fades out with the sounds of water flowing, birds chirping and light piano chords playing.

A French number, “La Pluie Et Le Beau Temps” is another lovely light acoustic guitar track, reminding listeners of a sunny Sunday afternoon stroll by the Eiffel Tower or on the Champs-Élysées. Changing the mood dramatically from the previous tracks, “Love Will Tear Us Apart (Dream Koala Remix)” is a spacey dark synth cover of Joy Division. To be honest, there isn’t much going on besides the word “love” repeated which is a bit of a let down and repetitive. It is even hard to recognize the original sound of Joy Divison in this version by Nouvelle Vague. This track could definitely be used as a soundtrack number for a Sci-Fi action movie.

Up-tempo guitar strumming begins this cover number “Ever Fallen In Love (Unlocked Destination)” by the Buzzcocks which is an acoustic guitar country-style number. The take away of this track is that a raga or sitar Indian style guitar strumming is used, adding a unique touch to the track.

As a long six year wait time for fans of the band, this EP may not be too satisfying, as it seems to not have a unifying theme to bring the four songs together. As individual tracks, Athol Brose has some great listens along with very unique cover tracks.