This is a Smiths cover from the Dum Dum Girls' newly released 'He Gets Me High' EP. The original is one of the most widely known Smiths tracks, and by extension making a cover version is an extremely brave undertaking - there are a lot of rabid, vocal Smiths fans out there who would not hesitate to point out any minor imperfections in the song. While staying close to the original enough to please fans, however, the DDGs manage to use their harsher vocals ('harsh' here is not a criticism, it just means that they have little of the croon of Morrissey) to unlock a waspish quality that I didn't realise the song had. They have put a lot of energy into the recording, and it really does stand up alongside the very best Smiths covers I've ever heard. And there are a lot of those.
I'm never really sure whether I really like the Dum Dum Girls or not. Their debut album was, in theory, perfect for me - lo-fi, girl-fronted fuzzpop. It just lacked enough proper tunes, really, which is one thing a band like this has to have. I suppose, actually, that's why they're so successful at this cover - now all they need to do is write some material of their own that can stand up alongside this. Or, of course, just do more cover versions.
Dum Dum Girls - "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" (The Smiths) by AwkwardSound
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