Mp3s of the Week: exclusive new Faces on Film and Hallelujah the Hills!

DOWNLOAD: Ryan Walsh,  "Famous Last Words (Faces on Film cover)" [mp3]

DOWNLOAD: Mike Fiore, "Nurses 5 Float Past (Hallelujah the Hills cover)" [mp3]

We couldn't have been more surprised, or delighted, when this ultra-exclusive two-fer landed in our email a couple of days ago: a matched pair in which the respective frontmen of Hallelujah the Hills and Faces on Film, longtime friends, perform solo covers of each others’ songs, perfectly timed to coincide their show together (on a bill with Dear Leader) at the Paradise this Friday.

What’s interesting is the way they interpret the idea of “solo” – which is to say, in the Whitman-esque, containing-multitudes fashion. Fiore's version of HTH's recent barn-burning, shout-along anthem (it's sort of their "King of Carrot Flowers Part 3") does what you'd expect: he slows it down to waltz time and imparts the full force of his melancholia. "I was pretty floored when I heard Mike's version of my song. So pretty!" writes Walsh. "I went in the other direction and turned his nice, waltzy song into a lo-fi punk thingy. You'll hear. And so will you: when Ryan takes on Faces on Film’s “Famous Last Words,” it’s with multitracked choirs of himself on backup vox, at least two plugged-in guitars, and a functional drum machine.  

Grab the tracks above; good seats still available at the Dise for this weekend.