Stream: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – “Jeremy (The Magnetic Fields Cover)”
Like so many great bands before them, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart have always made sure to tip their hat to the great bands that preceded them. When you listen to a song from the affable shoegaze pop band, you feel both the band’s sincere emotions (typically about young love) and the project’s genuine admiration of indie pop’s venerable progenitors (e.g. the early bands on Sarah Records) and 90s alternative rock (e.g. Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins). On their latest single for Slumberland Records, the band has chosen to do a direct homage to a great American indie pop band, the Magnetic Fields. Electing to cover the song “Jeremy” off the Magnetic Fields’ sophomore release The Wayward Bus, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart infuse the song with an electrifying rock energy completely different to the orchestral style of the original which featured cello and tuba. The way the Pains’ ebullient rendition of the song combines with Stephen Merritt’s lyrics about foolish youth and the inevitability of aging (“Like a Galapagos turtle we grow old and stay that way”) is simply perfect.

One of indie pop’s best new bands covering one of the genre’s most celebrated elder statesman? This is a piece of wax you should definitely pick up. The single is slated for release on October 9th via Slumberland Records with “Jeremy” on the A-side and a yet to be revealed East River Pipe cover on the B-side.