Track of the Day: ‘SexyBack’ by Rock Plaza Central

By ANDY MITCHELL

A good cover song can bring out all the original’s best qualities, or it can completely turn the original upside-down and backwards.

Rock Plaza Central does the latter on its cover of Justin Timberlake’s ubiquitous 2006 hit, “SexyBack.”

While the former NSYNCer brought sexy back with Timbaland’s futuristic production, the Toronto-based indie band takes the song out of the dance club and into a log cabin in the middle of the forest. It’s like going to a hoedown and dancing the robot.

Singer Chris Eaton channels bits of Hank Williams and Jeff Mangum as he warbles the song’s ridiculous lyrics. You can practically hear him smiling during the chorus, especially with the line, “Look at those hips,” as the rest of the band chimes underneath him with “Go ahead, be gone with it.”

With the horn accents in the second verse, along with the almost-creepy sounding fiddle solo at the end, there seems to be a great deal of artistic effort made in what appears to be a novelty. Lark or not, Rock Plaza Central’s rendition gives “SexyBack” a pleasant, easygoing melody without losing a shred of the original’s weirdness.