The last time we mentioned Twin Shadow aka George Lewis, Jr., he was performing Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” just one day after Reed’s death. He did it well enough for it to be named one of Cover Me’s favorite songs of 2013. Now he’s back and performing another throwback in the form of The Smiths‘ “There is a Light That Never Goes Out” for his monthly UNDER THE CVRS series.
The original, from the classic 1986 Smiths’ album The Queen is Dead, is a great mix of upbeat-ish music, Morrissey‘s detached delivery, and sad, mopey lyrics. Twin Shadow, with the help of fellow Brooklynite Samantha Urbani of the band Friends, updates the song with muted strings, echoing voices, and ’90s-era electronica synths and drums. Urbani’s voice coos wistfully, in stark contrast to the original, changing the entire tone of the song. It sets up Lewis’s moodier vocals, which eventually combine in a beautiful duet, before ultimately (and surprisingly) coming to a crashing halt in under two and a half minutes. This song builds a nice comfortable world before smashing it to pieces in a very short span of time, which means you’ll probably end up listening to it more than once. Watch the video below.
Check out more from Twin Shadow at his website and suggest his next song in the series on Twitter.
