Toadvine – She : Listen

Toadvine “blends weirdo garage rock energy with alt country-tinged sweetness.” They recorded and mixed their debut self-titled EP themselves, featuring four originals and this tribute to one of their many influences.

It’s rare that I hear a Gram Parsons cover that I approve of. I heard this song before I read the blurb and was pretty enchanted with this Chicago band’s sweet rendition.

From the band themselves on “She”:

When we started this project, we knew we wanted to include a cover song on the EP. We figured it was nice to have on an introductory thing as a new band – it shows people the type of artists we draw inspiration from, and frankly it’s just fun to play other people’s songs. Tristan wanted a slower song on the EP, since 3 of the 4 originals on there are mid-to-high tempo. “She” seemed like a perfect fit. We all love Gram Parsons and it fit exactly what we were looking for so we thought we’d give it a shot. We recorded the rhythm section in a live take, with Andrew on bass, Trevor on drums, and Jesse on acoustic guitar. After that, Jesse added his vocals and then he and Tristan started layering guitars, keyboards, and all kinds of miscellaneous noises across various parts of the song. We wanted to try to stay true to the energy of Parsons’ original while also allowing for some room to experiment and take the song in a more psychedelic direction.

The EP is out on Thanksgiving Day. Pre-order it here.