The FADER’s transgender charity covers compilation FADER & Friends Volume 1 is out now, available exclusively on Bandcamp until December 1, 2023. 100% of the proceeds go towards the Transgender Law Center, Mermaids, and Rainbow Railroad. Throughout the month of November, we’re speaking to the artists who contributed to the 44-song collection about the songs they covered.
The atmosphere of Perfume Genius' "Describe" is so intoxicating, I'm surprised that it's not been covered by everyone with a guitar and a pedalboard. Mike Hadreas's lovesick country-grunge epic originally appeared on 2020's Set Your Heart On Fire Immediately, and this month it's on our compilation via a cover by Wild Pink. The N.Y.C. indie rock band tap directly into the desperation at the original's heart; the distortion is cranked up to 11 and waves of steel pedal are cast across the track, turning it into the perfect song to slow dance to on the edge of a cliff in the middle of lashing rain.
Listen to the song below and buy the full album on Bandcamp. Scroll down to read Wild Pink's John Ross on the original song and his cover.
What's your first memory of this song?
I was walking to a gym in the rain at night in Brooklyn the day this song came out and I listened to it on repeat for hours.
Why did you decide to record it as your cover?
I've been wanting to make a cover of this for a while and this just seemed like a good time to finally do it.
What does this song/band mean to you personally?
This song takes me back to the weird window of time when everyone knew about Covid but the world hadn't yet shut down. I spent a lot of time with this song during the early pandemic and it was a big inspo on "Sucking On The Birdshot" from ILYSM.
What's another song you'd love to cover and why?
John Cale's "Ship of Fools."
