Undertaking such influential covers, as Newport, Rhode Island-based singer-songwriter Tanya Donelly along with her Wellfleet, Massachusetts-based accompaniment The Parkington Sisters, of the post-punk genre takes bold tenacity. Yet, Donelly and The Parkington Sisters seem up for the task, recently releasing their cover of The Go-Go’s “Automatic” off their 1981 debut classic, Beauty and the Beat. The Tanya Donelly and The Parkington Sisters forthcoming album is slated for an August 14 release, via American Laundromat Records, currently available for exclusive pre-order.
According to a press release, “Tanya Donelly and the Parkington Sisters release their cover of the Go-Go’s song “Automatic” on all digital platforms via American Laundromat Records. ‘We feel like it represents the album as a whole and it’s very sonically interesting,’ says Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter and founding member of three of the most influential and successful bands of the post-punk era Tanya Donelly (Belly, Throwing Muses, Breeders).” To listen to Tanya Donelly and the Parkington Sisters’ “Automatic” cover, stream below via YouTube.
The aforementioned all female outfit’s rendition of The Go-Go’s “Automatic” is a modern homage with beautiful, distinctively unique instrumentation permeating the listeners ears. Still retaining The Go-Go’s original melody of “Automatic” the use of bowed strings like the cello is heightened in the latest version. The clean plucked strings give Donelly and The Parkington Sisters’ rendition a poised and sophistication that mirror the regal production of The Go-Go’s original. Ever beautifully haunting do both versions both sound. To listen to The Go-Go’s “Automatic” original, stream below via YouTube.
As previously noted in the aforementioned press release, Donelly and The Parkington Sisters’ forthcoming debut come complete with impressive production credits, “Joining Tanya on the album are the Parkington Sisters (Rose, Sarah, Ariel), their sister Lydia Parkington (cello), Matthias Bossi (drum, percussion) and Jon Evans (bass, percussion) who also recorded and mixed the album.” Speaking on the recording process and the essential inclusion of the Parkington Sisters on their “Automatic” cover, Tanya goes on to say:
“With the brilliant Parkington Sisters at the helm of our version, this great song finds another home, still honoring the edgy creepy cool beauty of the original, but as its string folk sister. And Rose slays the E-Bow on this!”
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