The Gorillaz Cover The xx Live

Our friends at 24 Bit direct us to this live clip of Damon Albarn and members of the latest Gorillaz lineup (the human, non-animated one) running through a stirring cover of The xx’s “Crystalized”. The vocal phrasing is kinda jarring at first but once you get past Albarn’s straight take of the Croft/Sim intertwined vocals thing, it’s every bit as resonant as the original. It’s completely acoustic too and sleepier and sparser as well (if that’s possible). Like any decent cover the Gorillaz crew imbue the track with a different spirit to the original, in this case a healthy dose of pathos via those heavy, resonant piano chords and Mr. Albarn’s wounded drawl.

The clip comes for a three track live performance for BBC Radio 1 which also included new Gorillaz singles “Doncamatic (All Played Out)” and “On Melancholy Hill,”.

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