Jakethehawk Conjures "Seven Devils" [Florence + The Machine Cover] (Early Track Stream)
Earlier this year, Pittsburgh stoner rockers Jakethehawk released Hinterlands, a brilliantly airy slice of psychedelic doom that demonstrated their capacity for instilling a sort of dazed wonder as well as crafting massive riffs. Don’t let their absence from Metal Archives fool you: this is not a band to be taken lightly. As Andrew Rothmund mentioned when we premiered Hinterlands, they stand out against like-minded bands not because they’re pioneering new sounds, but because they’re critically effective at achieving an oft-attempted, rarely-achieved heavy psychedelic sound that can float among the clouds and still drive down into the heart:
Don’t get me wrong, extra-fuzzy desert-dwelling psych-rock is nothing new, but damnit, if [Jakethehawk’s] brand of sending us on rainy-eyed and rainy-skied night drives down memory lane didn’t cut deep, I wouldn’t be here writing about it.
In advance of upcoming tour dates, the band is now releasing “Seven Devils,” a cover of the haunting song by Florence + the Machine. Their rendition takes a doomy approach to the indie rock song that doesn’t fully discard the original, but also clearly marks this version as a Jakethehawk heavy hitter. Take a listen below:
…
…
In doom metal and stoner rock, we’re sort of accustomed to bands turning in note-for-note Black Sabbath songs tuned down a few steps as covers, but it’s nice to see a little more creative input added in. The ethereal piano motifs of the original track are reimagined as a bluesy riff here, shifting the meter into stoner doom territory, but the overall mystique of the song remains. Check out this track—and make sure you hit Hinterlands too— and then join us in anxiously awaiting more material.
…
From the band:
I’ve always been really impressed with the orchestration and production in Florence & The Machine records, and this song was always a favorite… so it was a fun challenge to interpret it through the lens of our style. There is a lot of air in the production of the original, so finding ways to make the track hit hard, while still maintaining that sense of space was a unique challenge, but I’m really happy with the sounds and moments we captured here. Also, we had the opportunity to have Jack Ferranti, my dad, sing some harmony vocals on this track so that was a really cool experience for me since I probably wouldn’t be playing music at all if it wasn’t for him.
We are back on the road this summer and thrilled to be finally playing shows again. We will also be doing a fairly extensive east coast tour in the fall that should be announced very soon!
July 10 – 123 Pleasant St. – Morgantown, WV
July 30 – Buzzbin – Canton, OH
August 13 – Sam’s Uptown – Charleston, WV
August 14 – “The Deviant Collective” @ Oliver Brewing Co. – Baltimore, MD
We are proud to be included on two tribute compilations that will be released later this year/early next year as well as the release of the 2020 Virtual Ripplefest Show through Ripple Music. As far as new original music, we are finalizing details to do a split with certain friends of ours from Louisville Kentucky through Ripple Music to be released early 2022 as well.
