13-year-old Nell Smith and The Flaming Lips have shared their latest cover of “The Ship Song,” originally sung by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.  The cover is a part of their LP Where the Viaduct Looms, which is all covers of Nick Cave songs. The new cover also follows their previously released edition of “Amber Girl,” which Nick Cave praised.

Both Wayne Coyne and Smith spoke with Consequence about the newly released song and the album. “It was really exciting to be recording a second song, as I wasn’t really sure how Wayne felt about the first one, so it gave me some confidence to keep going,” Smith stated. “Once the second song was done, I really felt that I might be able to do more, and so we continued choosing songs and kept the recording going.”

Coyne adds, “I think Nell and I just wanted to start to make some music and see what would happen. Doing cover songs is a fun way, in the very beginning, to get things rolling along. I picked Nick Cave, ’cause I love his music and lyrics, and I thought, ‘Nell probably doesn’t know very much of his [Cave’s] music, and she might (because she has NO pre-conceived notions) just do something very simple, heartfelt and original.’ And… SHE DID!!”

Smith started out as a fan of The Flaming Lips and after being front row at one of their shows in 2018, the rest is history.

The band recently played Psycho Las Vegas and Chicago’s Riot Fest.

Photo Credit: Mauricio Alvarado