When Lily and Madeleine made their MBE debut earlier this summer, they played a new song to get us excited for their forthcoming album.
“Hold Onto Now” was one of the highlights of that session and is one of the best tracks on “Fumes”.
And to celebrate the album — out October 28 on Asthmatic Kitty Records – we’ve got a special premiere: The lovely sisters taking on a solo track from Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner.
Listening to their rendition of this song for the first time, I got chills. Their harmonies soar, and with just simple piano and acoustic guitar, it’s a real thing of beauty.
To be honest, I had never heard the original, which was released on a 2011 EP called “Submarine” (The six songs were recorded as the soundtrack to a film of the same name).
When Alex initially released it, the BBC said the song “carries itself like an early Lennon song, albeit one which replaces post-Beatles angst with a late-night head-scratch about the state of things.”
It’s a swoon-worthy version where you really get to enjoy his voice in a different way than the full-on rock attack of the Monkeys.
Why did they cover this track you may ask?
From Madeleine:
“Lily and I chose this song because we’re fans of Alex Turner and really liked his Submarine EP. We were inspired by his “Stuck On The Puzzle” Intro, which is kind of a reprise of the song that feels more sparse and dreamy. We wanted to cover the song in the style of the Intro plus add some harmonies.
My favorite part about the arrangement is Shannon’s [Hayden] haunting cello part at the end.”
It will be released as part of a Noisetrade compilation tomorrow and you can watch the video below. Hear the original here.
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p.s. Lily and Madeleine also covered “Sea of Love” during their MBE visitand it’s well worth a listen!