PREMIERE | Dinowalrus, "Rescue" (Echo & the Bunnymen cover)
Ever since their emergence as a rogue offshoot from Titus Andronicus in the early oughts — Brooklyn institution Dinowalrus have always existed in some kind of alternate timeline of their own design. From imitating, emulating and exalting the pillars of pop’s past; Pete Feigenbaum, Meaghan Omega and Dan Peskin make a noise that resembles the hippest record collection you have ever witnessed (and more). So it is fitting that the group would pay their debts to the denizens of 80s angst-core cool with Dinowalrus’s grand debut of their Echo & the Bunnymen cover of “Rescue”. From the band that has revised your Brit Pop memories, Madchester affinities, acid house and all around psych pop affinities takes aim at your beloved new wave sacred calves to hoist up a new graven idol made in the Liverpool group’s image.
And leave it to Dinowalrus to make 2019 feel like 1979 all over again. Pete, Meaghan and Dan roll back the canonical clocks to the intersection where the post punk set took the no wave expressway direct to the 80s indulgences that would comprise the new romantic sparkle and sheen. The cover is impressively tailored with production that acts like a facsimile of the original while the Brooklyn shamans of sound are able to twist the delivery into a blender that makes “Rescue” reminiscent of a tightly executed single that could have come out in the mid to late 90s. The cover is curated with a sound that makes you want to shake a tambourine from nightfall to sunrise, it is a sound that provides an edge of catharsis and respite during even the toughest of times and a sound that lifts the listener out of the sinking sand and onto the bedrock earth of higher grounds. Dinowalrus’s arrangement plays off the code of the original where the listener is treated to an experience where the group’s trademark transcendental signatures are intact in a manner where it feels like the production moves like a carousel of wonder all around you.
Dinowalrus’s own Pete Feigenbaum shared some exclusive insights regarding the adaptation of Echo & the Bunnymen’s original:
At first I kind of wrote off the Bunnymen as run of the mill college rock, [as] I was more into The Teardrop Explodes!, but a few years ago I fell for them hard. They are moody and sparse, with very simple chord progressions, but there is a lot of emotion and psychedelic texture detail in their work compared to other post punk bands. They sort of became a template for the last two Dinowalrus records, especially tracks like "Light Rain” and "Tropical Depression". I am especially happy with the vocals on this track. This is the first time in a while I've released something where the majority of the verse vocals are single tracked, which was a bit of a risk. It makes everything sound present and spontaneous. I also brought back my baritone vocals which I ditched after the first Dinowalrus record, because I didn't want to sound too much like Interpol. Meaghan did a great job layering vocals at the end for a nice finale.
Catch Dinowalrus on the following dates:
March 21
Jersey City, NJ
The Pet Shop w/Joy Cleaner and Pynkie
April 10
Brooklyn, NY
Knitting Factory w/The Telescopes, Cult of the Lip
May 4
Brooklyn, NY
Our Wicked Lady w/ Onesie, North by North and Warpark