On Nov. 26, Nell & The Flaming Lips are set to release their LP Where the Viaduct Looms via Bella Union records. The LP will share nine covers of Nick Cave songs, with the 14-year-old Nell Smith on vocals and instrumentation.
“It’s always great to meet excited, young creative people,” vocalist Wayne Coyne said in a press release. “With Nell we could see she is on a journey and thought it would be fun to join her for a while and see if we could get things going. It was a great way to connect with her and help harness her cool attitude to making music.”
In addition to the album announcement, the group released their cover of “The Ship Song” in a black-and-white video of the band behind Nell, characteristically donning her hoodie on top of a beanie. The cover is surreal and spacey, her voice accompanied by light percussion and reverbing guitar.
One track from the album was released last year, their cover of “Girl in Amber.” In this version, Nell’s voice echoes as she sees her decaying body drooling blood after she was hit by a car. The video enhances the chilling nature of the song, seeing the young singer wander the woods and an abandoned tunnel alone as she stares into the camera.
This cover was appreciated by Nick Cave himself: “I was going to say Nell Smith inhabits the song, but that’s wrong, rather she vacates the song, in a way that I could never do,” said Cave. Nell shows a remarkable understanding of the song, a sense of dispassion that is both beautiful and chilling. I just love it. I’m a fan.”
Where the Viaduct Looms Tracklist
1. Girl In Amber
2. Weeping Song
3. Into My Arms
4. O Children
5. The Kindness Of Strangers
6. No More Shall We Part
7. Red Right Hand
8. The Ship Song
9. We Know Who You Are
Photo Credit: Mauricio Alvarado