Phoebe Bridgers – “Friday I’m In Love” (The Cure Cover)
Phoebe Bridgers is one hell of a songwriter, but lately, she’s also proven to be one hell of an interpreter of other people’s songs. In recent months, Bridgers has shared covers of Tom Petty’s “It’ll All Work Out,” (Sandy) Alex G’s “Powerful Man,” and McCarthy Trenching’s “Christmas Song.” They’ve all been gorgeous. Along with the rest of Boygenius, her trio with Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus, Bridgers has also tried out live Dixie Chicks and Killers covers. And now she’s taken on a foundational early-’90s classic.
The Cure released the dazed, lovestruck single “Friday I’m In Love” in 1992, during the strange and all-too-brief period when the Cure basically ruled the world. “Friday I’m In Love” peaked at #18 in the US and #6 in the UK, and it’s been popping up on movie soundtracks and the like ever since. It might have the distinction of being the happiest single from a band who were not generally known for performing happiness — though, honestly, there are lots and lots of happy Cure songs.
Bridgers recorded her version of the song in a live-in-studio session for the Spotify Singles series. Her take is warm and skeletal and lovely, built on a reverbed-out piano and a hushed and reverent vocal. The credits aren’t out there yet, but I would not be shocked to learn that one or both of Bridgers’ Boygenius bandmates sang backup on the song. It comes paired with a similarly soothing take on Bridgers’ own song “Scott Street.” Listen to the Spotify Single and watch the Cure’s original (VMA-winning!) “Friday I’m In Love” video below.
A prediction, based on no insider information: We are going to get a Phoebe Bridgers covers album at some point, and it is going to be great.