LA dreampop duo, The Know, have already verified their potency as one of the genre's freshest acts with a triplet of new singles, all parts of their upcoming five-song EP, wearetheknow, which comes out May 18th, 2020. The band, composed of Amusement Parks On Fire's Dan Knowles, and his wife Jennifer Farmer who has brilliantly handled all of the visuals which came with each single thus far, is undoubtedly on a fast ascent, and their coming EP has already come about as a substantial debut release.
Evidently The Know are also very good at tackling material already tried and dear. Not related to the aforementioned EP, the duo recorded while in quarantine a splendid version of The Jesus And Mary Chain classic, Sometimes Always, which originally featured Hope Sandoval and was released on Stoned & Dethroned in 1994. The Know kept the duet vocal approach, but edged nearer a grittier sound for their own rendition of the song.
Attempting to describe The Know's sound to the unfamiliar, JAMC are an easy reference, so unsurprisingly this new version sounds absolutely organic, as well as compatible to the duo's demeanor. It goes without saying that the rising band did the popular song justice.
Dan Knowles discusses with D//E some of the details behind the cover: "The inspiration for our cover of the Jesus and Mary Chain song Sometimes Always was, as many have shared in early 2020, lockdown induced boredom. During one of the many days inside Jennifer mentioned to me her love for the duet and how she sings along to it often in the car.
"Setting out to cover it though the question became how to avoid the risk of redundancy. Just faithfully recreating the original would be nice but was nice what early 2020 really needed?
"The decision was made, to maintain the structure of the original but, sonically, try and record something that would come closer to the spirit of early days Jesus and Mary Chain, the Jesus and Mary Chain that recorded Psychocandy, that would play deafeningly loud twenty minute sets with their backs to the audience and were accused by the English press of inciting riots. Of course, that wasn’t possible, that bar is too high but that didn’t stop us trying…"
Cover art by The Know
The Know Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
ZR