The West Yorkshire Indie rockers’ offering to the new series is a cover of ‘Finger- Nailed For You’, originally released by influential indie-pop outfit Comet Gain. The cover will feature on the compilation album entitled ‘Stars Rock Kill (Rock Stars)’, the collection is to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the historically significant record label Kill Rock Stars. The collection is already on sale with the current track listing of covers and buyers will be notified when new songs will be available to add to their collection.

The group took to their Instagram page to announce their excitement to be involved within the project, whilst citing Kill Rock Stars as their favourite label.

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A post shared by The Cribs (@thecribs)

The Independent label Kill Rock Stars was started in 1991 within the states of Washington and Oregon and was founded by musicians Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson. The label initially started as a project between the two so that they could release their friend’s music, the type of music in which the two friends wanted to hear. No particular genre has been assigned as the label’s focus but over the years the label became known for its release of punk music. The label began by releasing compilation albums showcasing the underground music from Olympia in Washington, one particular album featured the highly influential riot grrrl group Bikini Kill.

Comet Gain became an act which the label released, most notably their 7-inch ‘Mailorder Freaks Singles Club’, which was released by the label in September 1998. The band also featured on the label’s 2-disc compilation album ‘Fields and Streams’, with their single ‘Look At You Now, You’re Crying’, released in 2002. Before being represented by Kill Rock Stars, the group started in 1992 formed by singer and guitarist David Feck. The band took inspiration from many different genres but most notably took influence from northern soul and post-punk. The band has featured many different line-ups over the years but has continued to grow since its inception in the early 90s, with the most recent album ‘Fireraisers Forever!’ released in 2019.

Listening to Comet Gain’s material it is evident that the Cribs were inspired by the group, and in the following statement they describe the connection they felt to the band. The band’s statement also talks about the group’s link to Kill Rock Stars in the early days of their career. Within the statement provided the group also speak on their choice to cover their musical predecessors. “Comet Gain are one of the bands who have meant the most to us throughout our lives. From listening to them on cassette Walkman on rainy bus journeys to college as teens, all the way through to becoming a full-time touring band, their music has been a consistent companion for us and has somehow always provided the perfect soundtrack to every place and situation we found ourselves in, no matter how disparate. For years they made us believe that Croydon was the promised land, such was the power of their poetry. They just make you BELIEVE full stop. Incidentally, the primary motivation behind the first-ever Cribs recording back in 2001 was to make a demo for KRS as a submission for the ‘Fields and Streams’ compilation… but we got too nervous and never sent it in. So this is a 20-year dream come true.”

The Cribs recently announced their new UK tour dates, In March of this year the announcement confirmed their rescheduled dates for 2022. The tour will see the boys perform in support of their album ‘Night Network’ which was released on 20th November 2020. The band’s newest studio album was an independent project for the members as it was their first self-produced album and was also released under the band’s own record label, Sonic Blew.

20/08/2021 – Crystal Palace Bowl – London
20/08 – South Facing Festival 2021 – London
03/09 – The Piece Hall – Halifax
01/03/2022 – O2 Institute – Birmingham
02/03 – The Waterfront – Norwich
04/03 – o2 Academy Sheffield – Sheffield
05/03 – SWX – Bristol
06/03 – Manchester Academy – Manchester
08/03 – Boiler Shop – Newcastle Upon Tyne
09/03 – SWG3 – Glasgow
11/03 – Roundhouse – London
12/03 – Chalk – Brighton
02/06 – Temple Newsam – Leeds

Among the line-up are Fontaines D.C., with a slow, melancholic cover of The Beach Boys’ ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’. The Beach Boys sometimes have that effect where in completely the right mood they’re perfect – otherwise they’re kind of sickening. Not this cover. The last four lines, which tend to just fade into outro in the original, are haunting. You can catch a clip of it here:

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We recorded a version of “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” by The Beach Boys for @deezer “Inversions”. Listen exclusively on Deezer.

A post shared by Fontaines D.C. (@fontainesband) on Oct 6, 2020 at 2:48am PDT

This is what they had to say about it: “Covering a Beach Boys song has always been a scary thing considering the genius arrangements, their playing, their harmonies, everything about it … So ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’ we saw this kind of naive perspective towards love and marriage in the lyrics, and we were quite curious to see what would happen when you contrasted that approach with a darker musical palette. So we kind of slowed down the tempo and created a draggier tune for those lyrics to sit on top of.” 

A cover is an art form, there’s no doubt about that, and it’s always struck me as a great way to really get to know a band. What Fontaines D.C. say above, for example, shows just how much they understand their industry, and their craft. Perhaps Deezer picked the line-up for InVersions for exactly this reason.

InVersions also presents Arlo Parks’ first song in French: ‘Ta Reine’ by Angèle. Parks explains why this is so special: “I picked ‘Ta Reine’ by Angèle because I find her voice completely mesmerising and soft, and I feel like the topic the song discusses is very important. I’ve always wanted to sing in French since my mum is French and I’m generally just enthralled by this song and her delivery. I hope I can do it justice.” 

Really there is nothing to distinguish one moment from another – all of these covers are spectacular. For me, other honourable mentions go towards Alfie Templeman’s ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’, which retains the feel of the original while simultaneously softening everything. It perfectly suits the style that Templeman is really making his own.

Likewise, Orla Gartland’s ‘Nothing Compares to You’ is ambitious – intriguingly, her powerful voice seems to be set against a Radiohead-inspired, subtly electronic take on the melody. When the music falls away for the final refrain, Gartland shows nothing but pure talent.

Robyn we frikin love u @robynkonichiwa & this gem of a song so we made our own version of dancing on my own for @deezer listen here : https://t.co/esJwBHkW6b pic.twitter.com/rh80Xt84P4

— Dream Wife (@DreamWifeMusic) October 6, 2020

But, for me, Dream Wife’s ‘Dancing On My Own’ steals the show. It has all the chills of the first time you heard it. It absolutely puts a spotlight on why we all unexpectedly fell in love with Robyn in 2010. This is not because it’s a carbon copy, though; Dream Wife retain all of the best of Robyn’s original, while giving it a spin of their own. If you listen closely, you catch an endearing whisper of “in a galaxy far far far away” just before the bridge.

InVersions could not be more exciting as a music project, but it also feels like a positive force in these bleak times for the music industry. Nigel Harding, who is Deezer’s VP of Global Artist Marketing, explained the thinking behind InVersions. “We all know the music community has been hit hard by the pandemic, especially Indie artists who rely on live gigs. During this tough time, we wanted to do our part and offer support to Indie and Alternative artists with our new Inversions album … I’d love for music fans from all over the world to discover some new favourites on our InVersions album.”

You can stream it here.

Quite rightly, David Gedge anticipated that we might want to know how this came about – I’m sure we all have memories of that one evening where we had the best idea ever, for a board game, a novel, an entire fantasy world. For most of us, it becomes the one that got away. Well, The Wedding Present have been diligently sitting with this move since 2013. Gedge said,

“Where do ideas like this come from? Well, I can tell you that this one was born during a soundcheck in New Zealand, in 2013, when the band were playing around with the main melody of the classic Bond theme ‘You Only Live Twice’.

“And then came another idea. Each of the artists on this proposed compilation would be required to have a physical connection to Cinerama or The Wedding Present. I liked the unifying feel of that. I suppose it appealed to the collector in me. None of the artists I approached asked for payment for their track and so the obvious thing to do was to make this a benefit album.”

For the CEO of CALM, Simon Gunning, this project is like a teenage dream come true. He says: “I’ve loved The Wedding Present since I was a teenager. I once saw David Gedge doing some photocopying in an office, but couldn’t pluck up the courage to speak to him. I have jumped up and down to ‘My Favourite Dress’ in fields across the country and the tension of ‘Brassneck’ and ‘Dalliance’ gets me all sweaty.

“I, and CALM can’t thank the band enough for this album. Suicide is on the increase – it’s the single biggest killer of young men and the cause of death for 18 people each and every day in the UK. CALM is leading a movement against suicide through campaigning and through our free to call helpline and it’s support like this that means our message can reach more people than ever.” A covers album with a cause.

For those who are here for Bond and not the band, The Wedding Present are a 1980s indie group, heavily influenced by The Fall and Buzzcocks. In their lifetime they have had at least twenty different members, with David Gedge as the band’s only constant. Not From Where I’m Standing calls on the talent of multiple previous band members, and other artists associated with Gedge and his various projects. It has twenty different contributors.

The thing we all want is to know how fast-paced post-punk guitar music translates into the multiple and varied James Bond themes. The Wedding Present themselves will lend their talents Nancy Sinatra’s notorious ‘You Only Live Twice’, which begins with that glorious slow crescendo. Unfortunately, there’s not even a hint from the band as to what any of these covers will do, so we’ll have to wait eagerly. In the meantime, they have released the tracklist (you can see it below) for everyone to start anticipating one of the most ambitious cover albums in a long time.

Not From Where I’m Standing will be released on December 4. Coincidentally, earlier this week we learnt that this will actually become the latest offering for James Bond fans, as the twenty fifth Bond film, No Time To Die, has been postponed until April 2021. Until all of this is available, you’ll just have to pass the time by listening to Billie Eilish’s Bond theme on repeat.

Tracklist:

SIDE A
1. James Bond Theme – The Sleazoids
2. You Only Live Twice – The Wedding Present
3. Goldfinger – Simone White
4. Goldeneye – Follow The Moths
5. The Man With The Golden Gun – Jetstream Pony
SIDE B
1. Live And Let Die – The Donalds
2. The World Is Not Enough – Maria Scaroni
3. Diamonds Are Forever – Cinerama
4. Tomorrow Never Dies – Danielle Wadey & Charles Layton
5. All Time High – Minitel

SIDE C
1. Nobody Does It Better – Samuel Beer-Pearce
2. For Your Eyes Only – Klee
3. Thunderball – The Legendary Len Liggins
4. Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang – Sleeper featuring David Lewis Gedge
5. From Russia With Love – Graeme Ramsay

SIDE D
1. View To A Kill – Terry de Castro
2. Die Another Day – The Ukrainians
3. Skyfall – Such Small Hands
4. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – Shaun Charman
5. We Have All The Time In The World – David Lewis Gedge

i chose a bunch of my favourite songs and made a tasty little covers album during lockdown and boy am i thrilled for you all to hear it. listen to Realiti and preorder the record at https://t.co/YghwWtKCIk (1/2) pic.twitter.com/gFxplRph69

— Marika Hackman (@MarikaHackman) September 15, 2020

Covers follows 2019’s Any Human Friend, which was widely received as some of Hackman’s best, most honest and self-proclaimed “unifying and sexy” work. Covers will likely allow Hackman to experiment musically and to pour herself into an album while at the same time taking a step back from the light that she shone on herself and her own experiences throughout Any Human Friend.

In addition to the announcement, Hackman shared one of the ten covers: a version of Grimes’ critically acclaimed ‘Realiti’. If this is a sign of what’s to come on Covers, then we should all be getting quite excited! You can listen to it below.

Hackman’s ‘Realiti’ is completely stripped back. The video that she shared sets her vocals against the visual of a car driving along a motorway at night, which produces the most distinctive feeling. Where Grimes’ original makes its mark with layers of electronic beats and synths, the power of Hackman’s version is all in her melodic, melancholic voice.

In addition to an album announcement and a song preview, Hackman has promised a live stream with her entire band on the release date. She will perform in an empty swimming pool. Tickets are available with an album pre-order, all of which can be found here. Alongside your ticket and album, Hackman instructs you to “bring your armbands.”

Speaking about the concept of the album, Hackman said, “when it comes to covers I like to pick songs which I have been listening to obsessively for a while. It gives me a natural understanding of the music, and lets me be more innovative with how I transform it.” An album dedicated to covers is a great place to really play with music and style, and it seems like this is exactly Hackman’s goal.

She has chosen to take on some major and distinctive artists, but I think we can expect to hear Beyonce like we’ve never heard her before in Hackman’s newest venture. Likewise, there are few other places that you might hear Grimes and Elliott Smith compliment one another – all in all, it points to a carefully thought out tracklist. It might be two months until anyone can get their hands on it, but already this project feels special.

Tracklist:

1. You Never Wash Up After Yourself (Radiohead)
2. Phantom Limb (The Shins)
3. Playground Love (Air)
4. Realiti (Grimes)
5. Jupiter 4 (Sharon van Etten)
6. Pink Light (MUNA)
7. Between The Bars (Elliott Smith)
8. Temporary Loan (Edith Frost)
9. In Undertow (Alvvays)
10. All Night (Beyonce)