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Apr 05, 2024 By Mark Redfern

The Anchoress (aka Catherine Anne Davies) has shared a new cover of the Suede B-side “The Living Dead.” The cover was released via Bandcamp as part of Bandcamp Friday. The original song was the B-side to Suede’s 1994 single “Stay Together” and was later included on Suede’s two-CD B-sides collection, Sci-Fi Lullabies, in 1997. Suede is known for having some of the best B-sides of any of the ’90s British bands (or perhaps of any band period). Listen to The Anchoress’ cover below, followed by Suede’s original version.

Davies had this to say about the cover on Bandcamp: “It was going to take a pretty special song for me to revisit the idea of doing another ‘Version’ but I’ve been pretty obsessed with re-listening to Suede’s 2018 prog-tastic album The Blue Hour of late, and it also led me down an adjacent rabbit hole of the stunning B-sides collection that the band have amassed over the decades.

“I think I always felt a little awkward about the idea of tackling a Suede song, given that I’ve collaborated with and made an album with former member Bernard Butler—our 2020 album In Memory of My Feelings. But now, for Bandcamp Friday today, it feels like the moment to revisit what I think is one of their finest moments, the gorgeously dark and restrained ‘The Living Dead.’

“Originally the B-side to the standalone single ‘Stay Together,’ it has all the elements of song craft that I love and esteem: a novella embedded within [Brett] Anderson’s taut lyrical narrative of addiction and its devastating impact, perfectly paired with the restrained yet beautifully emotional arrangement perfectly penned by Butler.

“While this particular song (alongside the Radiohead back catalogue) were definitely in my ‘teaching-myself-guitar’ beginner’s repertoire at school, I wanted to step away from a faithful rendition of the original acoustic guitar arrangement—faultless as it is—translating it instead in into an orchestra of synthesisers to emphasise its cinematic aspects.

“I hope you enjoy this rendition.”

The Anchoress released a covers album, Versions, in 2023 featuring covers of songs by R.E.M., Radiohead, The Cure, Depeche Mode, and others. The Anchoress’ last studio album of originals, The Art of Losing, came out in 2021 via Kscope. Read our interview with Davies on the album here.

Suede’s last album was 2022’s aclaimed Autofiction. Read our rave review of Autofiction here.

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