Tod Lippy releases stellar covers album “Closer Than They Appear”
Tod Lippy has released “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” the second single from his new covers LP “Closer Than They Appear” also out now. Lippy’s interpretation of the classic Tom Petty song is instantly infectious with breezy organ and fuzzy guitars, which break to make way for Tod’s emotive & delicate vocal, as the melting pot of sounds twists and intensifies towards the peak of the song.
“There are so many Tom Petty songs I love, but “Don’t Come Around Here No More” always hit me the hardest. Despite the Dave Stewart over-the-top production flourishes (sitars!), it always struck me as an incredibly sad song, and I was really trying to access the sense of vulnerability Petty evoked in his lyrics in this cover, while also trying to strip the whole thing down to the basics, instrumentally speaking”, Lippy reveals.
Lippy has covered other musicians’ songs in the past, including memorable takes on tracks as diverse as Book of Love’s “Boy,” Alex G’s “Adam,” and Bing Crosby’s “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams.” After he completed “Time,” he decided to devote an entire LP to cover songs.
On November 4th, Lippy released “Closer Than They Appear”, featuring his interpretations of music by Low, Beth Gibbons, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, American Music Club, The NoTwist, Lucinda Williams, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Frightened Rabbit and Bedhead. “I only cover songs that have packed an emotional punch for me at different parts of my life,” Lippy says. “That process of listening to something I love over and over again, while at the same time trying to absorb the lessons the artist is teaching me about how to craft a beautiful song, is almost a forensic exercise. At a certain point, I find I’m able to pull back a bit and get to work hopefully creating something that both honours the original and takes it into new territory for both myself and the listener”, he further reveals. While some of these covers will be instantly recognizable, at least one should be familiar only to readers of ESOPUS, the arts magazine Lippy created and produced from 2003 to 2018: “Son C” is an unreleased track that Frightened Rabbit created for one of the magazine’s themed audio CDs (“Nostradamus,” from issue 13).
The 10-song LP also includes two bonus tracks: a remix of Lippy’s 2000 cover “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams” by London-based dj/producer Roy Merchant (who also mixed Lippy’s cover of “Hey Goodbye” on the album) and a remix of “Boy” (from the 2019 LP Here We Are) by OK Go drummer and acclaimed remixer Dan Konopka.