The first single from her second album, “50ft Queenie,” is PJ Harvey‘s rather notorious satire of what would later be called “big dick energy.” Full of masculine energy and braggadocio, Harvey sings about how big she is, all 5’4″ of her, while she and her band hammer away on their instruments.
New York garage punkers The Bobby Lees are exactly the band you would expect to take inspiration from Harvey’s early, louder music. And they’ve covered “50ft Queenie” as “50 FT” for their latest album, New Self.
The Bobby Lees slow the pace down but that doesn’t detract from the intensity. Another big change is the absence of electric guitar – neither lead singer Sam Quartin nor (now former) lead guitarist Nick Casa, who participated in the sessions, play on it. So instead they capture the intensity from the original from Quartin’s vocal, who spits the lyrics – in the verses she is almost rapping, and she shouts the chorus. When she drops to a whisper, it’s no less intense, with her whisper about as vehement as it can be. She practically barks at the end. The rhythm section plays with more of a groove than the original but it’s mixed super heavy, supporting Quartin’s commanding performance.
It’s a fitting tribute to the noisier, more aggressive early days of Harvey’s career. Take a listen:
