since this past january, i’ve been blogging about derek webb’s latest innovative project called democracy vol. 1. earlier this year, fans could cast votes for up to 12 songs that they wanted webb to cover. then, the 12 songs receiving the most votes would be covered by webb for the album. the album has been in the process of being recorded over the span of 2010, with 1 track being recorded and released each month. over the past 8 months, webb released the first eight tracks. here’s the current track listing:

1. the beatles: while my guitar gently weeps
2. coldplay: fix you
3. bob dylan: the times they are a-changin’
4. gnarls barkley: who’s gonna save my soul
5. sufjan stevens: chicago
6. u2: where the streets have no name
7. huey lewis and the news: power of love
8. the beatles: eleanor rigby

instead of releasing the the full list of tracks, webb is revealing each track month-by-month. and today, we found out the ninth one.

september’s track is simon and garfunkel’s the sound of silence, featuring sandra mccracken.

upon first listen, the track is great and unexpected. i thought he might play it more straight forward, doing something soft and understated. instead, we got something that, well, makes sense for derek webb’s recent musical offerings. it’s almost cryptic sounding. i know this is possibly a surprising comparison, but i instantly heard nine inch nails’ closer. i know, weird, but take a listen. it’s mostly the sorta creepy piano part that runs through the whole thing, which is reminiscent of the closing piano part on closer. also, he’s included an old vinyl sound to it, so it sort of harkens back to both the sound and video for closer.

but, don’t take my word for it. check it out for yourself. here’s the track.

derek webb ft. sandra mccracken / the sound of silence: