Anyone who’s seen
Spanish Love Songs live might have been lucky enough to see them tackle Phoebe Bridger’s astonishingly beautiful ‘
Funeral’ with surprising gusto and pathos. And, while they’ve not been ones to rely too heavily on cover songs, ‘Doom & Gloom Sessions’ is a suitably enjoyable stopgap as we await another twelve rounds of existential dread from the Californian punks.
Drawing from their lockdown endeavour, which saw them record a cover a month, voted for by fans and Patreon subscribers, ‘Doom & Gloom Sessions’ is wide-ranging, hitting indie-rock favourites that perhaps don’t seem apparent touchpoints for a grizzled pop-punk act.
So, it means there are three largely faithful takes on The Killers’ stomping ‘
Smile Like You Mean It’, Rilo Kiley’s brilliant ‘
Portions For Foxes’ and Jimmy Eat World’s wildly underrated ‘
Futures’, while a fourth – a stripped-back version of Grandaddy’s sleeper hit, ‘Now It’s On’ – is more of a departure from the original, but just as enjoyable.
