Deer Scout – Clumsy (Waxahatchee cover)

Olivia here. I’ve been spending a lot of time watching TV shows about animals recently – Supervet, Cats Make You Laugh Out Loud, etc. Before you say anything, no I do not have a problem. I just like animals. Today I was saddened to hear of the death of Granddad the lungfish, the oldest fish in captivity, who lived to the ripe old age of around 95 in Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium. Whilst his longevity was not at all unheard of amongst the lungfish community (who can live to ages of 100 and beyond), his life was undoubtably remarkable – not least because it inspired so much wonder despite spending most of his days imitating a decaying log at the bottom of his tank. Given that my longest living pet fish was around 4 years old, I am suitably impressed by his lust for life. Lungfish themselves are relics, having remained unchanged for the last 100 million years – living fossils that are now protected in their native Australia. God bless Granddad and god speed. So, today’s track of the day is suitably sombre for such an occasion. It’s not often that we feature covers, but Deer Scout’s enchanting reimagining of Waxahatchee’s ‘Clumsy’, a simple song about boredom, insecurity, and behaving badly, is worth a mention. The track features on booking agents Long Island Ladies‘ curatorial album of covers, based on the work of Allison and Katie Crutchfield (Waxahatchee, P.S Elliot, and Swearin’), a compilation full of lo-fi DIY pop and acoustic loveliness. With softly strummed guitar and fragile vocals, this cover doesn’t add so much as it takes away, leaving the bare bones to allow the pensive lyrics to take centre stage. It’s a successful cover in that sense – taking the essence of what made the original song so good and giving those elements new meaning and perspective. It will win no awards for complex production or arrangement, but that is so far from the point.