Steve ’n' Seagulls w/Restless Leg String Band

Weezer may have just scored a runaway-meme hit with their version of Toto’s “Africa” — novelty cover tunes are still one of the cheapest gags in showbiz. Apparently, though, not all novelty is created equal. With their silly pun of a band name and “hinterland hick” schtick, the Steve ’n’ Seagulls might have us believe they’re Finland’s hillbilly answer to Weird Al. To be fair, their bluegrass renditions of songs by the likes of Pearl Jam, Van Halen, Lenny Kravitz, Faith No More and Pantera are the very definition of lighthearted. Their music is tailor-made for working crowds into a sweaty, square-dancing, drink-toasting lather. But Steve ’n’ Seagulls also possess laser-like accuracy when it comes to arrangement details. Whether you like bluegrass — hell, whether you even care a lick about the source material — Steve ’n’ Seagulls put on a (perhaps unintended) clinic on the mechanics of songwriting. They have an especially acute knack for transferring subtle but essential background parts to old-timey instruments, thus casting the original songs in a whole new light. In other words, they epitomize everything covers should be. SABY REYES-KULKARNI