Last month, Connecticut rockers The Philistines Jr. took self-deprecation to a new level when they released their latest full length If a Band Plays in the Woods…? As the title gloomily predicts, the album’s twelve experimental and electronic tracks haven’t exactly landed them widespread recognition, but the band has a few tricks up its sleeve to fix that.
See, you may never have heard The Philistines Jr. frontman Peter Katis, but a lot of your favorite artists probably have. Katis is actually one of indie rock’s foremost producers, having helmed albums by Interpol, The National, Sigur Rós, Frightened Rabbit, and many more. Leading up to the October 19th release of the latest album, he called on his friends in some of these bands to record songs for a remix/cover companion piece. The resulting album, entitled If a Lot of Bands Play in the Woods…?—titles seem to be a The Philistines Jr. specialty—is due out sometime this fall.
Thus far, the band has premiered covers by Mercury Rev and Frightened Rabbit (both available below) with tracks from The National, Tokyo Police Club, Oneida, Mice Parade, and others still forthcoming. If they all turn out to be as good as these first two, the album could definitely help The Philistines Jr. to—ahem—”make a sound” with their latest album.
MP3: Mercury Rev – The End of the World, Again (The Philistines Jr. cover)
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MP3: Frightened Rabbit – My Brother Tom, The Green Beret (The Philistines Jr. cover)
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Check out more from The Philistines Jr. at their website or MySpace.