OK Go has released a new EP comprised of a pair of covers of the Zombies’ “This Will Be Our Year.” The covers are differentiated as a Lo-Fi and a Hi-Fi version and were released on January 22.
Lead singer Damian Kulash iterated his ardent admiration of the original Zombies track and expresses his excitement about the new release: “’This Will Be Our Year’ is one of my favorite songs of all time, and it’s more timely than ever. After such a catastrophic year — so much that we rely on just crumbling beneath our feet — it feels good to add a drop to the world’s bucket of hope and optimism. Like the song says, this year was a long time coming, and I pray we look back on it as the time when things got better,”
The new EP features a solo version recorded by Kulash at the request of the Biden campaign, as well as a remastered edition of their previous cover of the song. The vocals of the Lo-Fi version are more akin to that of the original, with the softer, nostalgic feel. However, the Hi-Fi edition’s crisper instrumentation is reminiscent of the original.
The Lo-Fi is dreamy and resonates around the listener and aligns more closely to an acoustic setting than its rockier counterpart, which feels slightly faster and includes a few additional quirky riffs as well as more instruments. The original’s lilting vocals are not quite replicated by the versions of OK Go, especially with the slightly more forceful Hi-Fi edition. Both OK Go renditions of the song are certainly identifiable as more modern, yet they each share the warm, homey feeling of the original.
Kulash and his wife were both diagnosed with the coronavirus earlier last year, announcing the matter along with the band’s release of their single “All Together Now.” The band released a video along with the song, with each member recording a separate video to be combined for the final piece.
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