With promises of an LCD Soundsystem cover, this English Teacher EP would never be passed on. Strap yourselves in for James Murphy and Billie Eilish covers from one of the finest bands about. Their original works are extraordinary and those who have heard the band play these out will have little doubt about the trajectory English Teacher are set for. Live from BBC Maida Vale is a tasting platter of their talent. It takes four hours to write eighty words and just twenty minutes to listen to this beautiful, five-track collection. One of the fastest-rising, most deserving groups in indie music is a wonderful addition to their discography. Covers are an overwhelming experience – few can tackle them well enough to warrant their existence. But with The Last Dinner Party covering Sparks and Friko paying tribute to Radiohead, contemporary artists who can consider themselves future classics are now making tremendous efforts elsewhere.
Lily Fontaine has a remarkable voice. Her work on This Could be Texas was a monumental experience. Listening to it as a way of overcoming a fear of flying is one of those moments of musical grandeur. A crutch for the living, moving time. Live from BBC Maida Vale has the same charms. A monumental vocalist in sync with truthful covers, adept instrumentals and striking additions to the well-layered sound English Teacher has created. Birds of a Feather is a remarkable cover. Such is the route of interesting new outfits. Pair the joys of This Could Be Texas with Birds of a Feather. While it is not as popular a move to perform those live it could certainly fit the slot of English Teacher performances. Look around you. Your town is a disgrace. If you live in a city, that too is in a problematic part of the country. The UK be damned. Hear it unravel on This Could Be Texas. Fontaine and the band made clear their intent with this song at a performance in Oslo, and it still rings true now.
Pair the rage with You Blister My Paint and The World’s Biggest Paving Slab, the latter a trodden-down groove of rage-inducing spirit, the former a love lost track feeling for hope and heart during emptiness, and you have an excellent core of originals. English Teacher has an intense collection of great songs to their name and this triple of originals makes for a neat accompaniment in their Live from BBC Maida Vale set. Pull it all back and undertake the words of LCD Soundsystem. The Big Apple may be a few miles away from the heart of Leeds but the essential alienation which spawns from Murphy on the Sound of Silver classic can be applied to anywhere.
Disillusionment with your hometown is only natural for those who have thought to fly the nest. New York, I Love You, But You’re Bringing Me Down is in safe hands with English Teacher. Heartfelt covers, impassioned originals and a sense English Teacher are destined for stratospheric results. What a time to climb aboard with their work. Intensity like this can be found on This Could Be Texas too, but what a treat this New York, I Love You, But You’re Bringing Me Down release is. Cathartic in the best of ways. It is a rush so very needed in times of crisis and English Teacher, whether they aim for it or not, are an important antidote to the horrors of the real world.
