Everyone loves David Berman. The late, great Silver Jews/Purple Mountains auteur commanded a faithful audience in his lifetime, but he increasingly feels like the most influential figure in 2020s indie rock. That apparently extends to artists outside the rugged, oblique, country-fried bands directly in Berman's sphere of influence.
King Hüsky, for instance, is the softer, poppier solo project of Vidar Landa, guitarist for Norwegian black metal party-rockers Kvelertak. Landa is not the first guy I'd expect to cover a Berman tune, but today he's released his take on "Punks In The Beerlight," the transcendent opening track from 2005's Tanglewood Numbers. King Hüsky has taken some liberties with the arrangement. He delivers Berman's lyrics without the raw, obtuse quality that made his words hit with such blunt force, and the urgency of the original performance has given way to something more chill. It reminds me of, I dunno, Kings Of Convience?
Hear Landa's take on the song below.
"Punks In The Beerlight" is King Hüsky's half of a split 7" with tourmate Selma French, who covered the Roches' "Hammond Song," a track that's been getting a lot of burn in recent years. You can buy the record here.
