Readers of a certain age might remember Sub Pop’s subscription service in the ’90s, which helped introduce subscribers to a cool new band ever month (the first shipment was the debut single of an unknown local band called Nirvana). Well the record label Polyvinyl has revived the concept, but their version has a catch: All the songs are recorded on a 4-track machine. In fact, they’re all recorded on the same 4-track machine, mailed from musician to musician.
The latest entry comes from David Bazan (of Pedro the Lion among others). When the 4-track landed in the mail, he took the opportunity to record a cover of the Killers‘ “Read My Mind.” It’s of a piece with Bazan’s more recent work, which is more electronic than the acoustic songwriter stuff he’s known for. Listen below.
Check out more on Polyvinyl’s 4-Track Single Series here. Other artists in the new volume include Telekinesis, Crooked Fingers, Deerhoof, Ducktails, of Montreal, Skylar Spence, Jonathan Rado (Foxygen), The Dodos, Jacco Gardner, Kishi Bashi, and Blikk Fang (MGMT’s Andrew VanWyngarden & of Montreal’s Kevin Barnes).
