Natalie Prass‘s self-titled debut was one of the standout records of the first half of this year. Now, she’s following it up with an EP recorded live at Spacebomb, the Matthew E. White–helmed studio where she recorded the LP. Included on Side By Side are new versions of “Christy” and “My Baby Don’t Understand Me,” both of which you can hear below.
The EP also includes covers of Grimes (“REALiTi”), Simon & Garfunkel (“The Sound of Silence”), and Anita Baker (“Caught Up in the Rapture”). As Pitchfork reports, Prass explained her cover choices in a lengthy statement:
On Anita Baker: “I chose ‘Caught Up in the Rapture’ because it’s the perfect song and Anita Baker can really work a shoulder pad. I have crazy respect for her.”
On Simon & Garfunkel: “‘Sound of Silence.’ I dig the S & G… not like most people do. I can put it on for like a few songs because the lyrics and soft singing are very soothing, but then I’ll have to put on James Brown Live at the Apollo just to balance it out. Carmen McRae’s psychedelic version of this song is brilliant. We did it her way. It’s got that balance. This kind of style of music comes very naturally to us Richmond music folk. This was a one take Jake.”
On Grimes: “‘REALiTi’ by Grimes. Four chords. Simple lyrics and melodies. I think the world of her. We worked this song out in the studio never having played it before and recorded it like 3 times through. I think it works although she’s probably going to say “what is this jazz shit” and hate it.”
That seems unlikely—though perhaps not as unlikely as Prass’s cover of Slayer’s “Rain in Blood”—but there you have it.
Side By Side track list
“My Baby Don’t Understand Me”
“Caught Up in the Rapture” (Anita Baker)
“Christy”
“The Sound of Silence” (Simon & Garfunkel)
“REALiTi” (Grimes)
Side By Side is out November 20 on Startime International.
(via Pitchfork)
