On Your Sleeve

While hardcore fans of Jesse Malin’s former punk band, D Generation, might find his radio-friendly album of cover songs a hard sell, anyone who likes Ryan Adams’ romantic take on contemporary rock ‘n’ roll might find On Your Sleeve equally enjoyable. Malin opens with a cover of Bad Brains’ “Leaving Babylon.” Here he sings much like Adams, with an endearing, nasal-toned warble, as his backing band turns the tune into a gossamer slice of countrified pop. He borrows the watered-down rockabilly rhythms from Adams’ “Shakedown on 9th Street” for a buoyant rendition of Paul Simon’s “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” before pumping the Stones’ “Sway” with electro flourishes that recall the hybrid dance/rock sounds of the early ‘90s. Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side” gets the Beth Orton treatment, with palatable, coffeeshop strum ‘n’ bass bolstered by acoustic guitars and sequenced beats. He closes with a wistful rendition of Fred Neil’s “Everybody’s Talking.”