Photo credit: Stephen Hoffmeister

Indie rock band DIIV has unveiled a haunting new cover of Pavement’s “Cream of Gold,” performed during their recent appearance on SiriusXM. The cover offers a fresh, gritty take on the 1999 track from Pavement’s fifth and final studio album Twilight Terror, showcasing DIIV’s ability to transform the song into a mesmerizing and eerie experience.

According to NME, In this reimagined version, frontman Zachary Cole Smith delivers soft, whisper-like vocals that echo throughout the track, bringing an ethereal quality to the original’s already melancholic tone. The despondent delivery of lines like “Time tired you’re tainted through / Wins, songs and substitutes / I dream in beige, why’d you leave me so far now?” further amplify the emotional weight of Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus’ exploration of a toxic relationship. Smith’s delicate vocal approach intensifies the feelings of loneliness and longing, making DIIV’s rendition feel raw and introspective.

The track has a dissonant, grungy, sludge rock sound that is heavy on feedback, dreary riffs and lyrics sung with melancholic ambivalence. The band plays it in a kind of hypnotic trance state, as guitarist Andrew Bailey appears to become enthralled with the transient melodies and lays down a groove heavy solo with a zombified expression, characteristic of the track’s stoner rock attitude.

Watch DIIV’s complete performance of “Cream of Gold” on Sirius XM below: