Pitchfork

On the upcoming Through the Wilderness: A Tribute to Madonna, the unenviable task of covering "Like a Prayer" falls to Lavender Diamond, who, to their credit, don't change up Madonna's best single very much. Instead, they simply play it down, clearing away the percussion and the gospel uplift and installing their own synth washes, Ron Regé Jr.'s rolling tambourine/drum rhythm, Becky Stark's piano, and a heavily reverbed choir that includes members of the Chapin Sisters and the Finches. The song's spiritual animation remains, only more ethereal than earthy and bypassing the carnal Catholicism of the original for an earnest reading: When Stark sings, "I'm down on my knees/ I wanna take you there," she means it perfectly innocently, with not a hint of sex. That's a limitation, but to the band's credit, even when the song reaches a peak toward the end, it actually sounds like a prayer-- a questioning internal monologue rather than an outward testimony.

Stream:> Lavendar Diamond: "Like a Prayer"
[from Through the Wilderness: A Tribute to Madonna; due 11/27/07 on Manimal Vinyl]