I can list several reasons why I'm looking forward to the month of May. My birthday would be reason #1 of course (because, presents!), but Kwabs and Royce Wood Junior made the cut, as each of them will be gifting me with the release of their debut full-length LPs. Ironically, RWJ worked with Kwabs for his upcoming Love + War release and has even remixed the energetic anthem "Walk." So when I heard that he released an alternate take on Kwabs' melodic masterpiece "Perfect Ruin," I knew it would be worth a listen.
After being emotionally slain by the breathtaking video, Catching Flies took it a step further and gave us a haunting flip of the searing ballad. Where the CF version was layered and filled with varied musical elements, RWJ opts for a different approach, almost stripping the song bare. And it took me way deeper into my feels than I was prepared for. Instead of a piano-driven arrangement with soaring strings, the keyboard takes over as main accompaniment, more subdued than dominant. But the real highlight is the addition of a layered, higher octave vocal (an alteration of Kwabs' own voice). It actually makes the original vocal stand out even more. And more Kwabs is never a bad thing.
Listen to the beautiful rework below and prepare to be blown away. Both Kwab's Love + War and Royce Wood Junior's The Ashen Tang are available for pre-order.
