Defined as much by the thrust as it is the texture of its instrumentation, Covers is definitely no ordinary cover album. Whether he’s crooning to a sophisticated club beat in “That’s the Way Love Goes” or straddling something a little more temperamental in “Being With You” alongside Lisa G. Allen, Ronnue is a picture of self-control in this latest studio work, which I would personally rank among some of the slickest to enter his discography to date.
Basslines take on a supple form in this record, while percussion becomes downright conservative in instances such as “Sex Shooter” and “She’s Always in My Hair,” the latter of which utilizes a synthetic backdrop to highlight the crisp vocal stylings of our leading man like nothing else could have. By all accounts, it’s remarkably difficult to make a cover album work for modern listeners, but in the case of this LP, whether it be Ronnue’s energy or the meticulous craftsmanship he puts into his every verse, there’s never a moment in which Covers sounds like anything other than a spot-on addition to the soundtrack of 2020 – and my, how we needed something of its caliber this season.
The vocal is always the main draw in anything this man stamps his name on, but there’s something particularly fantastic about the moxie he’s putting into the lyrics of “That’s the Way Love Goes” and “Fire.” While his past work has leaned towards funk and R&B more than it has straightforward pop music, he’s finding a way to make even the most fundamental of grooves sound really soulful and outside of the box in this setting.
The slow jams here are some of the best tracks he’s ever recorded, and better yet, I love the immense amount of depth they showcase for the man of the hour. He’s got a lot of different elements to his sound that might not have been as easily accessible ahead of this record’s release as they are here, and to me, a player of his increasing stature within the American underground couldn’t make a much wiser decision than to use this sophomore affair to demo versatility at its most unfiltered.
Though it’s not quite the sonic juggernaut its predecessor was, Ronnue is still dropping the fire on us like nobody’s business in Covers and giving listeners plenty of reasons to stay tuned to his output as this decade gets into full swing properly in 2021. There haven’t been many exciting moments to rally around among indie pop releases in 2020, but with the arrival of this LP followers of the Northwest underground can rest assured that many of the same chills Ronnue made a name for himself with are left intact in this latest work. A combination of this tracklist and that of Introduction 2 Retro-Funk would make for a perfect live setlist once the world begins getting back to normal, and with any luck, we’ll all get to experience a live performance from this guy a lot sooner than later.
Troy Johnston