Arriving swiftly after 2018's
Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John, 2019's
Juliana Hatfield Sings the Police amounts to the second chapter in a musical autobiography for the rocker. If
Olivia Newton-John amounted to
Hatfield's first musical love,
the Police are the pivotal band of her teens, a group that accelerated her interest in rock & roll. Appropriately,
Juliana Hatfield Sings the Police isn't as sweet or dreamy as
Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John.
Hatfield emphasizes the group's connection to punk and New Wave, both through song selection and arrangement. While
Sings the Police hardly avoids hits, it does contain such B-sides as "Landlord" and a host of deep cuts, ranging from "Hungry for You (J'aurais Toujours Faim De Toi)" to "Murder by Numbers." Crucially,
Hatfield's D.I.Y. aesthetic means she builds each track with drum machines, flanged guitars, and double-tracked harmonies, decisions that give the album a primitive yet futuristic edge. Often, this choice means her versions sound more New Wave than
the Police originals: "Next to You" pulsates to a controlled, stylish beat, "Every Breath You Take" is stripped of its signature riff and given a bit of a dark bounce, "Roxanne" finds
Hatfield punctuating its melody with squalls of distorted guitar. A few numbers adhere closely to the original arrangements -- "Canary in a Coalmine" and "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da," both notably from
Zenyatta Mondatta, hit the same emotional notes -- but they serve as musical guideposts illuminating how the rest of the record offers clever and loving subversions of a familiar catalog. In
Hatfield's hands, the songs of
Sting and
the Police don't necessarily sound like hits -- nor are they performed with the technical proficiency of
Andy Summers and
Stewart Copeland -- but they sound fresh and alive, once again feeling like punk-inspired pop. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine