The premise for the AV Club’s annual Undercover series is simple: a band comes their offices, selects a song off a predetermined list, and performs that cover. Once a song is covered, it gets scratched off the list, so the later in the year a band swings by, the less songs they have to choose from. It makes for some interesting pairings, like GWAR covering Billy Ocean or Wang Chung taking on Modest Mouse.
Then, every now and again, the pairing of band and song is pretty much perfect. This year’s Undercover has already given us PUP covering the Buzzcocks and the Men doing DEVO, which are both fairly fantastic all around.
Now along comes British post-punk band Eagulls, five lads from Leeds probably responsible for our favorite LP of 2014, covering “I Wanna Be Adored” by Manchester legends the Stone Roses.
It’s a nice side-step for a band that’s garnering comparisons to Echo & the Bunnymen and other modern rock luminaries. Plus, there’s what whole British thing.
“The Stone Roses are a very important British band,” offers frontman George Mitchell. “We like British music quite a lot, as we’re British.”
Fucking cult, right.
The guitarist offers a bit more of an explanation before the band pays respects to the original with a nice slow-burn lead-in. From there on out, it’s all gold.
Watch it below:
NOTE: The video embed seems a bit wonky; click here to watch it on the A.V. Club site.
WE STOPPED OFF TO PAY SOME RESPECT TO THE STONE ROSES @TheAVClub
•I WANNA BE ADORED• http://t.co/pySYLwqoGP
— EAGULLS (@EAGULLSUK) July 15, 2014