Thomas White’s latest solo effort gives us five nicely diverse covers, opening with the song that lends the EP its title – Warren Zevon’s ‘Accidentally Like A Martyr’. Already heard ‘The Maximalist’, the former Electric Soft Parade co-frontman’s gentle version of the 1978 ballad hits the spot; it’s no radical reimagining of the Zevon classic, but taken as a straightforward homage White’s version is rather beautiful. His interpretation of Mission Of Burma’s ‘That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate’ kicks things up a notch, with two minutes of energetically punky indie that suits White’s smooth vocals better than you might expect. Third track ‘We Have All The Time In The World’ is the weakest on the album – a tedious slice of cheese that loses out to both of the Fun Lovin’ Criminals’ versions of the Louis Armstrong love song – but White’s stripped down take on Sparklehorse’s ‘Little Fat Baby’ sees the EP get back on track. The album ends on a high point too, with a likeable bash at Isham Jones and The Ray Miller Orchestra’s 1920’s hit ‘I’ll See You In My Dreams’ complete with retro-sounding echo. Perhaps a touch too smooth in parts, but a worthy addition to any covers collection nonetheless.
