On ‘We Know Who You Are’, swirling synths circle around a ponderous bass line bringing emotion to the song as Nell’s vocals drift along trying to flatline the whole thing. The menace of the Cave original is replaced with an innocence yet the song still chills. The instrumentation is spacious with deep synths and a lazy acoustic strum. Similarly, ‘Weeping Song’ features heavily reverbed vocals which add an eerie atmosphere to the track. The ghostly backing vocals from Wayne add a beautiful layer to the gorgeous guitars and this song shows exactly how this bizarre concept really works. The reverb is tipped so high it sounds like Nell is singing from outer space, which is fitting to the accompanying spacious instrumentation. It was ‘The Ship Song’ that caught my attention first. There’s a similarity between the two artists here, in that Scarlett’s vocal delivery was perhaps a little limited, but this enhanced the covers and brought a different perspective and dynamic to the songs. That was another album that seemed a crazy idea, but it really worked and subsequently led me to know and love the music of Waits. Back in 2008, actress Scarlett Johansson recorded a Tom Waits cover album, with Dave Sitek of TV On The Radio. I can’t imagine how exciting all of this must be for Nell, who writes her own songs too. He enjoyed the transformation that Nell brought to the track by singing it in a way that he himself couldn’t do. The seal of approval came in the form of Cave himself actually saying how good he thought their version of ‘Girl In Amber’ was. Covid got in the way so the plans changed to record a cover album, with Wayne selecting Nick Cave as Nell hadn’t heard his music before and wouldn’t have any pre-conceived ideas of how to sing the songs. Keeping in contact with Nell and Father Jude, the band approached Nell to do some recording with them. Amazingly, the girl sang every word back. Nell had been doing this for several shows and had gotten the attention of Wayne (no idea how this happened), who sang a David Bowie cover to Nell. Nell Smith, originally from Leeds, moved to Canada and at the age of 12 first encountered Wayne Coyne by dressing as a parrot and making her way to the front of the audience at a Flaming Lips show in Calgary. The back story is even more absurd so let’s start with that. But here we are with Where the Viaduct Looms, by Nell & The Flaming Lips. The group described the making of one such cover, “The Ship Song,” for our Origins series, and Coyne and Smith also stopped by our Peer 2 Peer interview series to discuss the album.īack in October, The Flaming Lips took a break from performing shows in giant bubbles to play “Mother I’ve Taken LSD” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Their ongoing “American Head American Tour” resumes in San Antonio, Texas in March, and you can grab tickets through Ticketmaster.At the outset, the concept of a 14 year old girl recording an album of Nick Cave cover versions with one of rock’s most experimental bands is a weird thing to fathom. The fast friendship culminated in Where the Viaduct Looms. After impressing singer Wayne Coyne with her fandom (and her penchant for wearing a parrot costume), the pair became pen pals, and Coyne encouraged Smith to begin making music herself. Smith, a teenage Flaming Lips fan from the UK, connected with the Oklahoma rockers in 2018 after becoming a front row regular at the band’s shows. At the end, drummer Matthew Kirksey pulled his blazer aside to reveal a T-shirt that read “Bad Seed,” in tribute to Cave’s longtime band the Bad Seeds. Lips frontman Wayne Coyne displayed his trademark humility, fading into the background and only stirring to sing the occasional supporting vocal or bang on a single drum. Smith took center stage with the veteran rockers arrayed behind her, as a projection screen brought the eye into a whirlpool of psychedelia. The post Nell Smith and The Flaming Lips Cover Nick Cave’s “Red Right Hand” on Colbert: Watch appeared first on Consequence.ġ4-year-old musician Nell Smith and psych rock veterans The Flaming Lips took their unlikely friendship to television last night, covering Nick Cave’s “Red Right Hand” on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The track comes from Where the Viaduct Looms, an album of Nick Cave covers that Smith and the band released in November.
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