Marissa Nadler and Stephen Brodsky have released a set of covers of Boston rock band Extreme’s “More Than Words,” and Phil Collins’ 1981 hit “In The Air Tonight.” “More Than Words,” originally appeared on the band’s album Extreme II: Pornograffitti, while “In The Air Tonight,” appeared on Collins’ debut album Face Value.
Nadler and Brodsky take a more open approach to “In The Air Tonight,” with spacious instrumentals. a brooding bassline and some distorted audio effects. The song’s famous chorus is sampled during the chorus of the cover, with Nadler singing alongside Collins.
” I feel that the massive hit (“In The Air Tonight”) really soundtracked my childhood and I know the others do as well,” Nadler explained in a statement. “I have this long list of songs in the “would love to try to do this” category. As I’ve mentioned before, Steve Brodsky (and Emily) have made things really easy in that we share obsessive work ethics. We were lucky to bring producer Randall Dunn into mix our version, which was recorded on an extremely hot day at Steve’s apartment in Brooklyn.”
The duo’s take on “More Than Words,” is complimented by a strong acoustic guitar line, that sounds brighter than the originals, yet just as catchy. Nadler’s vocal delivery creates a different sense of emotion, with a powerful performance complimented by Brodsky’s vocal overlays. The two covered the song live earlier this year.
Nadler released two tracks “If We Make It Through The Summer” and “Poison” featuring John Cale earlier this year. Brodsky debuted Final Transmission with Cave In earlier this year as well. The performer was confirmed to be a part of Old Man Gloom in 2018.
The two collaborated on the album Droneflower, which was released earlier this year. Check out our interview with the two whether they discussed this album and future collaborations.