Last year, Yeah Yeah Yeahs released their comeback album Cool It Down. Its lead single “Spitting Off The Edge of the World” featured Perfume Genius, and today the band has revealed a new “lush” version of the track.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs wrote in a statement: “There haven’t been many duets in the history of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, maybe we were waiting for a unicorn like Mike to come around. Having a chance to try a different rendition of Spitting Off the Edge of the World with Mike was always on the wishlist. Our producer wanted to bring the track into Lee Hazlewood territory as far as lush arrangements were concerned, there is some influence but in the end it’s very much a stand alone sum of its parts, the gem of another collab between Dave Sitek, @perfumegenius , and YYYs. Enjoy!”
“Spitting Off the Edge of the World” starts off with a melancholy instrumental accompanied by dark undertones. “Bow your heads in the absence of bombs”. The listener is warned of incoming danger despite having no reason to be afraid. Suddenly, the song becomes more optimistic. “Dark, dark places shall be none. She’s melting houses of gold”. These “houses of gold” become safe havens for those hiding in the darkness; the song literally starts off with “Cowards, here’s the sun”. The sun comes out several times in the song as a reminder that darkness is waning.
There is a theme of lineage in this song; the passing on from parent to child and so forth. “Mama, what have you done? I trace your steps In the darkness of one Am I what’s left?”. These lyrics describe the circle of life; the challenges that each generation faces in their lifetime. “Wounded arms must carry the load”. The song ends with a more upbeat instrumental as trumpets carry the same emotional tunes that the song started with.
Check out the new song below.
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