illuminati hotties

"Head On (feat. Illuminati Hotties)" is the first cover of a series by Ducks Ltd. called The Sincerest Form Of Flattery, out on Carpark Records. More to come.

Ducks Ltd is back today with the announcement of a new series of covers entitled The Sincerest Form of Flattery and the first taste is a cover of Jesus & Mary Chain’s “Head On” featuring Illuminati Hotties. Each track of their new series will feature a new collaborator and friend of the band. The new track follows on the heels of the band’s one-off single “Sheets of Grey”.

On “Head On” Ducks Ltd. pays homage; the cover takes the alternative rock classic and adds catchy guitar riffs and uplifting vocal harmonies which breathes a new jangle-pop life into the nostalgic original. The track is an exciting collaboration between both bands featuring the signature bright guitar tones and hooks of Ducks Ltd. and the powerful, pop backing vocals of Sarah Tudzin of Illuminati Hotties. The upbeat new cover halves the original's run time, ramping up the fun while staying reverent to the alt-rock greats. By itself, the cover further establishes the song as a true anthem that ascends with tension and bursts with warmth.

Speaking to the track, Tom McGreevy says;

I really like covers! If memory serves the first time we did one as a band was when Evan’s parents came to visit Toronto from Australia and we had a show while they were in town so we learned a song called “Before Too Long” by Australia’s poet laureate Paul Kelly (who for those who don’t know him is sort of like Australia’s Bob Dylan/Bruce Springsteen/Elvis Costello all rolled into one very beloved guy). We’ve kept doing them live, both sincerely (The Go-Between’s “That Way”) and as something of a goof (Tom Petty’s “American Girl”), ever since and every time we do one we feel like we learn something about songwriting and arranging that makes us better at making our own music. This project is kind of an extension of that exercise, and as a band who obviously wear our influences on our sleeve a bit, it’s a fun way to share some stuff we’re into.

The original “Head On” is total a classic, and the lyrics are just so brilliant in an understated kind of way, but I actually started thinking about covering it after listening to the Pixies’ cover of it on Trompe le Monde (which is the best Pixies album, don’t @ me). They really kick the shit out of it, in a totally different way than The Jesus and Mary Chain do, and it made me desperate for a chance to sing it, and also got me thinking about ways you could adapt the vibe of it to make it fit into our world a bit. Sarah Tudzin has an immense and powerful production/mixing mind and one of my favourite singing voices of anyone doing stuff right now, so we asked her if she’d be down to work on it with us and she helped us figure out how to make it work. Truly a high honour! She also persuaded us to record our guitars through actual amplifiers for the first time ever, rather than going straight into the box like we normally do which feels momentous! Amplifiers! Who knew!