Indie label 4AD has tapped the Breeders, Future Islands, Big Thief, and 15 other artists on its current roster to cover songs from its catalog for a new release, Bills and Aches and Blues. The first five tracks from the compilation were released Wednesday, March 10th, while the full project will arrive digitally, April 2nd.
The opening side for Bills and Aches and Blues features the Breeders covering His Name Is Alive’s “Dirt Eaters,” U.S. Girls covering the Birthday Party’s “Junkyard,” Tkay Maidza covering the Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?” Aldous Harding covering Deerhunter’s “Revival,” and Maria Somerville covering Air Miami’s “Seabird.”
The Breeders, along with participating in the comp themselves, were covered by several other artists as well: Tune-Yards contributed a version of the band’s classic “Cannonball,” Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox covered “Mountain Battles,” and Big Thief covered “Off You.” One of 4AD’s most recent stars, Grimes, also got a pair of tributes, with Spencer. covering “Genesis” and Dry Cleaning covering “Oblivion.”
Other selections from the tracklist include Future Islands covering Colourbox’s “The Moon Is Blue,” Becky and the Birds covering Bon Iver’s “The Wolves Act I and II,” Bing and Ruth covering the Pixies’ “Gigantic,” and Helado Negro covering Deerhunter’s “Futurism.”
Bills and Aches and Blues gets its title from the opening lines of “Cherry-Coloured Funk,” by one of 4AD’s most venerated artists, the Cocteau Twins (at least ostensibly, as Elizabeth Fraser never published the lyrics to the song). Following the compilation’s digital release, vinyl and CD editions will arrive on July 23rd; a deluxe vinyl box set is set to drop later this year. The compilation is available to preorder, and profits from the first 12 months will be donated to the Harmony Project, a Los Angeles-based after-school arts and music program for kids in underserved communities.
Bills and Aches and Blues
1. Tkay Maidza — “Where Is My Mind?” (Pixies)
2. U.S. Girls — “Junkyard” (The Birthday Party)
3. Aldous Harding — “Revival” (Deerhunter)
4. The Breeders — “Dirt Eaters” (His Name Is Alive)
5. Maria Somerville — “Seabird” (Air Miami)
6. Tune-Yards — “Cannonball” (The Breeders)
7. Spencer. — “Genesis” (Grimes)
8. Helado Negro — “Futurism” (Deerhunter)
9. Efterklang — “Postal” (Piano Magic)
10. Bing and Ruth — “Gigantic” (Pixies)
11. Future Islands — “The Moon Is Blue” (Colourbox)
12. Jenny Hval — “Sunbathing” — (Lush)
13. Dry Cleaning — “Oblivion” (Grimes)
14. Bradford Cox — “Mountain Battles” (Breeders)
15. SOHN — “Song To The Siren” (Tim Buckley)
16. Becky and The Birds — “The Wolves Act I and II” (Bon Iver)
17. Ex:Re — “Misery Is a Butterfly” (Blonde Redhead)
18. Big Thief — “Off You” (The Breeders)
From Rolling Stone US
