Hovvdy & Lomelda - Covers EP

It seems only fitting that a split covers EP between Texas-bred artists Lomelda and Hovvdy would release only a few days after the summer solstice.  Unlike the solstice, the Covers EP is decidedly short but arrives for some of the balmiest days of the year.  Days so hot that if you are somehow forced to be outside the primary trick is to move so slowly as to not break a sweat.  Over the course of less than ten minutes, the two artists move in the slowest of paces as if that’s all that can be managed in the languid lugubriousness of the late afternoon.    

Consisting of five tracks, Hovvdy covers a few of Lomelda’s songs and she, in turn, covers the last two songs from Hovvdy’s Cranberry album of a few years back (one of them twice).  The fastest paced track here, Hovvdy’s take on ‘Talk’ (from this year's M For Empathy album) spins out in just over a minute and susses out the melody of the song that’s over almost as soon as it starts.  The band also covers an earlier track, the Elliott Smith inspired lamentation ‘Out There’, and gives it a jazzy send-up. 

Lomelda for her part takes two of Hovvdy’s least likely to be covered songs and makes them her own.  The longest track here, ‘Colorful’, makes the original sound like a full-on Coldplay anthem in comparison.  The song is defined by a simply played keyboard and more so by the lazy line “tired from sleeping”.  She also covers ‘Swing’ in two different variations.  The first characterized by backwards loops and the distant scratch of what sounds like a broken spring loaded bicycle bell.  The sounds put together with Lomelda's vocal tone brings forth a nostalgic feel.  The second approach (and final song of the album) is more straightforward and let’s ‘Swing’ build to more of a crescendo. 

The theme of the Covers EP seems to be “I’ll lo-fi your lo-fi and lo-fi you one better”.  If you are already captivated by these kindred spirits’ sound this release gives you a little something to tide you over ’til what comes next.  A summery release for sure, but not your L.A. dancing in the streets variety.  It’s more of a recording of the sparest of movements that are dictated by a sun-baked Central Texas afternoon or ten minutes spent in the Gulf Coast’s oppressive humidity.  Sip it slowly it doesn’t last long.