The Wiz: Big Thief Goes The Breeders
"Big Thief" goes "The Breeders" 🙃 ("Off You" cover) - 4AD: "Bills & Aches & Blues" compilation
"Big Thief", led by the mesmerizing singer and guitarist Adrianne Lenker, with Israel's own Max Oleartchik on bass, are favorites of critics and indie and singer-songwriter listeners alike, whether as a band or through their solo work. Now they have covered one of the most beautifully minimal songs released by "The Breeders" in 2002.
Kim Deal's lovely voice and delivery, so effortless and honest compared with the band's more energetic, distorted songs ⚡, are completely exposed in the original. Just an acoustic guitar, a gentle bass and a solitary effect at the beginning, which, honestly, is pretty strange!
The original:
Lenker and her bandmates have also kept their arrangement relatively minimal, although it is a little less delicate than the original's fragile glass 🍷.
Gentle drums now enter alongside a touch of keyboards, perhaps in sympathy with that odd opening effect. And, of course, there is the distinctive atmosphere Lenker brings to everything through her unique voice 🌬️ and a delivery that always feels so emotionally connected.
The cover:
The occasion behind this cover is a special project from the excellent, long-running label 4AD, home to both bands.
Founded in England in 1980, the label has housed many outstanding acts, from what the 1980s broadly called alternative music 🙃 to contemporary artists under the equally expansive indie-rock umbrella. Its history includes "Pixies", Kim's magnificent former band, "Bauhaus", "Dead Can Dance", "The The", "Deerhunter", "TV on the Radio" and many more.
The project is called "Bills & Aches & Blues" and is due out tomorrow, April 2, 2021! Selected 4AD artists were invited to cover songs by their labelmates. Even if the label sees it as a little pill 💊 to soothe the troubles of the pandemic, it should offer a wonderful opportunity to hear familiar artists in a different light and, most importantly, discover more gems hidden in this extraordinary catalog.
In the image 🖼️, from top to bottom:
Kim Deal in earlier days, "The Breeders" today, the compilation artwork, the label's logo, Adrianne Lenker and "Big Thief".
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