Run for Cover takes a really cool lesser-known work and sings the heck out of it, but the arrangement needs more refinement to reach maximum impact.

The piano and string instrumentation adaptation that starts Bring You Down is hauntingly awesome: we're leaning forward in our chair, we're expecting a controlled growth, some kind of vocal journey from Run for Cover from all the nice interweaving, when the group abruptly blasts out very stark and loud "DAH-DAH!" licks at the song's first of multiple transitions. Turns out this choice is also a preview for more vocal outbursts that simply don't support the elegance and coolness of the arrangement's start. The contrasts are obviously employed to give a marked transition in style and energy, but instead they remove the listener from the established atmosphere. The frequent transitions that appear in the original (by The Dear Hunter) take us from soft and gorgeous to full and exciting in a prog-rock setting; something got lost in the translation to our craft.

Perhaps some different distortion through the filters, or a different vowel, or a quickly closed vowel, or a reimagination of the frequent sonic transitions would have helped smooth out the flow here. Even with my personal complaint, I still hear these strong voices with their wonderful natural dynamics, and the capable lead from George Abitante setting the stage for this poignant song. I'll split the difference and call this release a "4".