It’s beginning to become something of a tradition for independent record label Robotic Empire to reveal a new Nirvana tribute album on Record Store Day, an annual affair observed the third Saturday of April to promote the culture of traditional record stores. The label’s expanding portfolio of Nirvana tributes includes modern takes on In Utero and Nevermind, and on April 16, will add debut album Bleach. Titled Doused In Mud, Soaked In Bleach, the record will include music from a handful of alternative bands such as Beach Slang, Rob Crow’s Gloomy Place, Thou, Defeater, Basement, Daughters, This Will Destroy You, The Saddest Landscape, Mean Jeans, Young Widows among others. The cover art has been finalized and can be viewed below.
According to Brooklyn Vegan, Circa Survive’s take on “Love Buzz” will be the album’s first release. The song, made famous by Nirvana, is a cover originally performed by Dutch rock band Shocking Blue. When asked by Under the Run Review about the prospect of performing a cover of a cover, Circa guitarist Brendan Ekstrom states that he is unfazed:
No. It’s hard to explain but in my mind “Love Buzz” is a Nirvana song. It’s one of the first songs that I obsessed over when I was 14 years old and was learning to play guitar. At the time, I thought Nirvana wrote it. It just fit so well with the rest of the record. Their energy was so special that they could make any song they played sound like it was theirs. To me, “Man Who Sold The World” and “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” became Nirvana songs because they were the versions that were driven into my brain over and over as a teenager. I didn’t need to listen to the originals when the band who was making me believe in music had their own amazing version for me to listen to.
It’s comes as little surprise to fans that Circa Survive is at ease performing Nirvana’s music; lead singer Anthony Green has sited Nirvana as one of the band’s biggest influences. “Love Buzz” will be the third Circa contribution to a Robotic Empire tribute to Kurt Cobain’s triumvirate: the group recorded “Scentless Apprentice” in 2014 for In Utero, in Tribute, in Entirety and “Drain You” in 2015 for Whatever Nevermind. Check out the streamed audio of the destructive “Love Buzz” and see the full album tracklist below.
Doused In Mud, Soaked In Bleach:
01. Defeater – Blew
02. Thou – Floyd The Barber
03. Beach Slang – About A Girl
04. Basement – School
05. Circa Survive – Love Buzz
06. This Will Destroy You – Paper Cuts
07. Young Widows – Negative Creep
08. Mean Jeans – Scoff
09. Rob Crow’s Gloomy Place – Swap Meet
10. The Fall of Troy – Mr. Moustache
11. Big Hush – Sifting
12. Daughters – Big Cheese
13. The Saddest Landscape – Downer