Hear Cardiff-based quintet Joanna Gruesome‘s hugely impressive cover of the Galaxie 500 classic “Tugboat”.
Back in September, the tongue-in-cheekily named Joanna Gruesome released their acclaimed debut LP, Weird Sister, a rich blend of noisy pop-punk, shoegaze, and C86 influences. They’ve now followed it up with the single for stand-out track “Sugarcrush”. But it’s the b-side that really caught our attention.
Not every up-and-coming band would dare to take on such a passionately beloved song like Galaxie 500’s “Tugboat”. Even fewer, if any, could pull it off quite this well. Joanna Gruesome’s version adds an intensity and urgency to the quiet build-ups of the original, as well as a staggering wall of noise .
Personally, I can’t quite decide if it beats the original (does any cover do that?), but I can say that Alanna McArdle’s scream to kick-off the finale gave me some serious goosebumps – something the original never did.
Weird Sister is out on Slumberland Records and Fortuna POP, where you can get your hands on this single now too. Follow the band on Facebook and Twitter.
Photo by Jen O’Neill