Words: Linn Branson
East London trio Arliston supplied a Little Indie Track Of The Week in August with 'Two Times', and they now double up for us with their cover of one of the most outstanding songs to be heard: the immortal 'Wicked Game'.
While there will never likely be anyone who can better Chris Isaak's original 1989 version - and there have been many attempts over the last three decades - Arliston pull out a sterling effort on their dark twist of the song, which was released today (November 1).
Jack Ratcliffe is fast becoming a Little Indie favourite (he has been placed in the same echelon as Stereo Honey's Pete Restrick, Palace's Leo Wyndham and Sea Girls' Henry Camamile) with his deliciously pensive vocals that move effortlessly between baritone and falsetto; underpinned by Jordi Bosch’s metronomic beat which infuses the song with an angular urgency. George Hasbury, meanwhile, has moved from the song’s original guitar to a minimal piano arpeggio which keeps the sonic landscape clean and simple.
While this is a cover, Arliston have taken a departure from the original by adding a thunderous ending.
"When we go to that part of the song in our live version, we were having far too much fun to stop," says Ratcliffe, "we felt we should just see where it ended up!” That transpired to be applying a full choir of harmonised voices and a full acoustic drumkit.
End result? An elegant and stirring rendition. Nectar for the ears.
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