Ducks Ltd returns with the second installment of their covers series entitled ‘The Sincerest Form of Flattery’ with a new collaboration with fellow Torontonian Jane Inc. The two have covered post-punk legends The Cure’s In Between Days – out now via Royal Mountain Records/Carpark Records.
The track begins with a bass line and guitar riff that closely resembles the original, but retains the Ducks Ltd. signature upbeat, bright guitar tones and punchy vocals from lead vocalist Tom McGreevy, with supporting vocals from Jane Inc. The track puts on display the band’s appreciation and mastery of 80s alt-rock, staying true to the era’s nostalgic undertones and jangly instrumentation. Along with their last cover of Head On by Jesus And Mary Chain, which featured guest vocals from Illuminati Hotties, Ducks Ltd. continue their streak of re-worked covers paying homage to their musical heroes. Listen to In Between Days via YouTube below or stream it here.
Speaking to the track, Tom McGreevy says; “Robert Smith is a genius and the Cure are the best and I absolutely love this song. It’s such a simple one but all of the pieces slot together so neatly. We listened to all the demos he made of it, and it’s cool to hear how clearly the fundamental parts of it are realized on the very first one, even though he doesn’t have any lyrics yet and is just wordlessly singing the melody (which I also do when we demo stuff!). We mostly tracked this one on a day off when we were on tour with Nation of Language, so the vocal was tracked in the front seat of a parked Mitsubishi Outlander in the middle of the night outside an Airbnb in Grand Junction, Colorado. It’s also the first thing we’ve made that our bass player Katie plays on.
Carlyn Bezic (aka Jane Inc) has been a pal for maybe a decade and is one the best musicians in Toronto. I’ve seen her in so many bands and it’s been so cool to watch the Jane Inc project come together, as it feels like she just keeps refining and perfecting a creative vision that was already clear in some of the first projects I saw her in. I’ve wanted to do something with her for forever, so I was super excited she said yes to this!
PS: Someone told me once that Robert Smith only responds to emails on one day a week and it’s always IN ALL CAPS. I have no idea if this is true, but I really want it to be. Also please email me Mr Smith!”
Tour dates
Sep 4 – Vlieland, NL @ Into The Great Wide Open
Sep 7 – Dublin, IE @ Workman’s Club Cellar
Sep 8 – Glasgow, UK @ Broadcast
Sep 10 – Edinburgh, UK @ Sneaky Petes
Sep 11 – Leeds, UK @ Headrow House
Sep 13 – Manchester, UK @ YES
Sep 14 – Birmingham, UK @ Dark Horse
Sep 15 – London, UK @ Windmill Brixton
Sep 16 – Brighton, UK @ The Green Door Store
Sep 17 – Bristol, UK @ The Crofters Rights
Sep 18 – Southampton, UK @ The Joiners
Sep 24 – Madrid, ES @ Wurlitzer Ballroom
Sep 25 – Barcelona, ES @ Upload
Nov 16 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas*
Nov 17 – Detroit, MI @ Loving Touch*
Nov 18 – Toronto, ON @ The Drake*
Nov 20 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall*
Nov 21 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right*
Nov 22 – Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA*
Nov 23 – Washington, DC @ DC9*
Nov 25 – Columbus, OH @ The Basement*
Nov 26 – St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway*
*with Disq
More information on Duck Ltd
Propelled by a fondness for boundless jangle-pop, Toronto’s Ducks Ltd. (formerly Ducks Unlimited, no association with the questionable waterfowl hunting nonprofit) is a duo that operates with the dynamism of a full band: Tom McGreevy (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Evan Lewis (guitar, bass, drum programming) met at a Dilly Dally show around the time they were both applying for permanent residency and playing in different local bands, quickly recognizing something in each other: a resolute love of underrated ‘80s indiepop a la Sarah Records (specifically for Tom, U.K. groups like Close Lobsters, the Marxist band McCarthy, anything on Cherry Red Records; for the Australian Evan, The Go-Betweens and Flying Nun Records). But impressive knowledge of niche pop music does not make a band: the pair started writing and recording together in 2018, taking the time to discover their musical identity: a whole EP was recorded with outside producers and scrapped, never to be released. “It came out sounding good,” Tom explains, “But not like us.” Their critically acclaimed debut EP, Get Bleak, released on Madrid indie Bobo Integral (Tim Cohen, Massage) in 2019 and re-released on Royal Mountain and Carpark in 2021 with three additional songs, was originally recorded with live drums—“We’ve had rotating members ever since we’ve been a band. We’ve got Spinal Tap-level drummers at this point,” Evan is quick to point out. That EP, too, was redone—and with a drum machine, built from demos recorded in Evan’s bedroom, revealing the key to Ducks Ltd.’s sound: simple charms, just like the music that inspired it, and a project best served when it’s just the two of them trusting the intensity of their creative relationship. It’s worked out: Ducks Ltd. have played gigs with The Goon Sax, Weyes Blood and Juan Waters; they’ve received glowing praise in publications like Pitchfork, The A.V. Club and NME. But it’s their debut LP, Modern Fiction and its masterful melodies and depressive fun that confirms it: great things are here, and sometimes, all you need is a good friend to realize it.
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