A couple of weeks ago, two “limited edition tour EPs” found their way onto my hard drive. And they were hot on the heels of “tour only” swag from Damien Jurado and Jason Molina. I love going to shows, and I’m always a sucker for these things. This week, I’m going to tell you whether or not this year’s crop of special edition tour souvenirs are any good.

Pedro the Lion’s EP would be a pretty weak release if it was supposed to be an EP in support of a single: three re-recorded songs from various points in the band’s discography and three covers (Randy Newman’s “Political Science,” Cat Power’s “Metal Heart” and Radiohead’s “Let Down.). The fact that it’s a “tour EP” lightens that burden a lot, and actually makes me wish I had gone to one of the shows. The version of “Transcontinental” that kicks the record off sounds better than the one on Achilles Heel—the formally recorded version was good, but felt a little bit like it didn’t need the synths or harmonies much. The new, stripped-down one is more rhythmic and sounds like something that’d be great live.

Covers can be the best reason to go to a show—the only thing I remember musically about several shows I’ve seen is what the band covered, and whether or not they did it well. Train, for example, managed a totally respectable Led Zep cover. Recording some covers for the EP is a great way to make a good souvenir. “Political Science” is the best cover on this record, and would single-handedly make the EP worth my money. Randy Newman, for those of you not hot on 70’s singer-songwriters or that one episode of Family Guy, used to write really biting satirical, funny songs that people had a tendency to misunderstand. Seems like he and David Bazan would have some stuff to talk about. “Metal Heart” is also an excellent choice, in part because Bazan does a decent job marrying the tentativeness of the Cat Power version with the way he belts out songs.

The big let down, fittingly I guess, is “Let Down.” It’s too much of a carbon copy of the Radiohead version, from the detached vocal to the guitar tone. Covers in which you don’t change anything about the song are almost always a bad idea, unless there’s only going to be three guys in the audience who know the original veresion. Then you’re only pissing off three guys, and everyone else gets to hear your favorite obscure Yo La Tengo B-side. I mean, I guess I can make the case in favor of this cover just as easily, but I can also sum it up by saying “Dude, that shit’s boring. He ended the record with the most boring track.” So that’s what I’ll do. All in all, it’s a good EP with well-intended missteps that can be fixed by the listener. Go ahead and rearrange your playlists. Take off “Let Down,” and track five will be a great ending. Or, rearrange the whole thing! Put Political Science last and rejoice!