Though many New Year celebrations were muted last week– livestreams played to audience-free clubs; the return of socially-distant/limited capacity crowds; plenty of events cancelled outright – Born Without Bones seem undeterred in marking the entrance into 2022 in grand fashion. The long-running emo-rock trio recently shared an inspired cover of The Zombies’ “This Will Be Our Year,” released just a few days ahead of New Years’ Eve.
Born Without Bones’s music often moves in fervent surges, so it might seem a mismatch on paper for the group to take on The Zombies’ chipper classic. Wisely though, the trio luxuriate in the tune’s most shadowy corners, with an impassioned arrangement that’s part intimate love letter, part old-school slow dance. The arrangement is vast, romantic: arpeggiated guitars and epic drum drum hits, swaying in and out of the glow of a single spotlight. Where the trio find a common approach to The Zombies is in the cover’s production – which, like the original, feels artful, pointed and pristine.
Born Without Bones’ version of “This Will Be Our Year” is the centerpiece of NYE, an themed EP which also features covers of Motion City Soundtrack’s “Together We’ll Ring In the New Year” and Death Cab For Cutie’s “The New Year.” The Zombies may be the outlier in terms of artist selection here, but “This Will Be Our Year” is the EP’s boldest gesture, and makes for a great centerpiece in the release. Check out the cover below, and buy/stream the full NYE EP via Bandcamp.
Check out more covers of The Zombies here.
