Pitchfork

The sheer number of Cure cover/tribute albums already in existence is pretty goddamned absurd, so does the world really need two more of these things? Well, if you're willing to wager on a bunch of bands who have done us good in the past, the answer is yes.

Both Just Like Heaven: A Tribute to the Cure and Perfect as Cats: A Tribute to the Cure (henceforth known in this news piece as Heaven and Cats, respectively) boast fairly formidable rosters of indie rockers trying their hands at Robert Smith and company's best mope-alongs.

Heaven comes at us courtesy of American Laundromat Records and will feature the Raveonettes, the Rosebuds, the Brunettes, Tanya Donelly with Dylan in the Movies (not to be confused with Stars of Track and Field), Elk City, Joy Zipper, and Grand Duchy (aka Black Francis and Violet Clark), among others, tackling pretty much all the hits: "Close to Me", "Just Like Heaven", "Lovesong", "In Between Days", "Pictures of You", and so on. If American Laundromat sounds familiar, they also did that (almost) all-lady Neil Young tribute.

Cats, meanwhile, has a fairly enormous pool of contributors, including Blonde Redhead, Jesu, CocoRosie, Bat for Lashes, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, the Dandy Warhols, Indian Jewelry, Kaki King, Rio en Medio, Lewis & Clarke, Bat for Lashes collaborator Christine Weeks, and even Lou Doillon, daughter of Jane Birkin and half-sister to Charlotte Gainsbourg. Manimal Vinyl, the folks responsible for that left-field Madonna tribute, will deliver this one unto our eager ears. They will also donate proceeds to the Invisible Children organization.

Each of these odes to the Cure is a work in progress, so don't be surprised to encounter insertions, deletions, and switcheroos as they shape up. American Laundromat doesn't expect to have Heaven out until February or March of next year, while Manimal Vinyl is eyeing a "late 2008/early 2009" release for Cats. For the curious, the current makings of the two tracklists lie below.

And hey, the real Cure are touring right now! Their European adventures wrap up in London tomorrow night (March 20), and a rescheduled North American jaunt awaits in May and June.

Just Like Heaven: A Tribute to the Cure (tentative, unsequenced):

The Raveonettes: "A Forest"
Grand Duchy: "A Strange Day"
The Submarines: "Boys Don't Cry"
Elk City: "Close to Me"
Kitty Karlyle: "In Between Days"
Luff: "Jumping Someone Else's Train"
Joy Zipper: "Just Like Heaven"
The Rosebuds: "Killing an Arab"
Cassettes Won't Listen: "Let's Go to Bed"
The Brunettes: "Lovesong"
Elizabeth Harper & the Matinee: "Pictures of You"
Tanya Donelly with Dylan in the Movies: "The Lovecats"

Perfect as Cats: A Tribute to the Cure (tentative, unsequenced):

Blonde Redhead: "The Funeral Party"
The Dandy Warhols: "Primary"
Bat for Lashes: "A Forest"
Indian Jewelry: TBA
Katrine Ottosen: "The Lovecats"
CocoRosie: "Just Like Heaven"
Blackblack: "In Between Days"
Kaki King: TBA
Xu Xu Fang: "Fascination Street"
Hecuba: "Killing an Arab"
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti: "Charlotte Sometimes"
Mariee Sioux: "Lovesong"
Rio en Medio: TBA
Lou Doillon: TBA
Matt Gangi: "Fire in Cairo"
Sarabeth Tucek: "Three Imaginary Boys"
Raspberry Cocaine: "Lullaby"
The Muslims: "Grinding Halt"
Army Navy: "Close to Me"
Caroline Weeks: "The Drowning Man"
Les Bicyclettes Blanches: "Hot Hot Hot!!!"
Tara Busch: "Let's Go to Bed"
Lewis & Clarke: "Disintegration"
Veil Veil Vanish: "The Upstairs Room"
Astrid Quay: "The Caterpillar"
Corridor: "The Kiss"
Jesu: TBA

Give me the Cure:

03-20 London, England - Wembley Arena
05-09 Washington, DC - Patriot Center *
05-10 Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Spectrum *
05-12 Boston, MA - Agganis Arena *
05-14 Montreal, Quebec - Bell Centre *
05-15 Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre *
05-17 Chicago, IL - Allstate Arena *
05-19 Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theatre *
05-21 Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre *
05-23 Salt Lake City, UT - E Center *
05-25 George, WA - The Gorge Amphitheatre (Sasquatch! Festival) *
05-26 Vancouver, British Columbia - General Motors Place *
05-29 Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl *
05-31 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl *
06-03 San Diego, CA - Cox Arena *
06-04 Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theatre *
06-06 Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center *
06-08 Austin, TX - Austin Music Hall *
06-09 Houston, TX - Toyota Center *
06-11 Tampa, FL - St. Pete Times Forum *
06-13 Fort Lauderdale, FL - Bank Atlantic Center *
06-15 Atlanta, GA - Gwinnett Center *
06-16 Charlotte, NC - Charlotte Bobcats Arena *
06-18 Cleveland, OH - Wolstein Center at Cleveland State University *
06-20 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden *
06-21 New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall *

* with 65daysofstatic