The Download

Cover songs can be a gamble. But after their brilliant tribute to Kate Bush, we’re willing to give the Futureheads the benefit of the doubt. The U.K. quartet recently released a nonalbum reinterpretation of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” on a Q magazine compilation. To be futuristic, the group replaced the post-disco guitar and campy saxophone of the original with its signature barbershop-quartet backing vocals. (Appropriately, frontman Barry Hyde is beginning to sound like an early version of Robert Smith.) Sure, it’s not another “Hounds of Love,” but it’s a triumph compared with Bowie and Mick Jagger’s shaming of Martha and the Vandellas’ “Dancin’ in the Streets.” To listen, see www.pitchforkmedia.com (search news: Futureheads) or www.youaintno picasso.com (search: Futureheads).