Caroline Polachek has teamed up with Lauren Auder for the cover of Virginia Astley and David Sylvain’s duet “Some Small Hope,” which was originally featured on Astley’s 1986 studio album Hope in a Darkened Heart. This cover was produced by Danny L Harle and all of its proceeds will go toward supporting the Shelter Partnership Los Angeles, Mermaids UK and Shelter UK. The original was co-written Astley and Ryuichi Sakomotoand, who produced the record.
“Some Small Hope” takes a more modern approach to the original’s experimental and ambient sound. Polachek and Auder’s vocals create beautiful melodies over the spacious instrumental, capturing the original’s beauty.
Polachek released a new cover earlier this month of The Corrs’ “Breathless,” which was originally recorded for their 2000 studio album In Blue. Her latest studio album, 2019’s Pang, featured the singles “Ocean of Tears,” “Parachute,” “So Hot Your Hurting My Feelings” and “Look At Me Now.”
Polachek stated that she took influence from a number of female surrealist painters, such as Dorothea Tanning, Kay Sage and Leonora Carrington, which helped influence her record’s expressionist storybook goth feel. The performer was previously well known as a member of the indie pop trio Chairlift, which split up back in 2017.
“I’ve forever been a fan of surrealism and the way that psychology and mental states got turned into landscapes, objects and situations,” Polachek explained in an interview with Vice. “Particularly by the female surrealists, who were so overlooked… artists like Dorothea Tanning, Kay Sage and Leonora Carrington. Dali and Magritte get all the hype!”
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat