Minneapolis indie pop duo Bad Bad Hats released their debut album Psychic Reader back in 2015, and now they're getting ready to drop a 10th-anniversary tribute album, featuring remixes and covers of Psychic Reader tracks. Hippo Campus, the Front Bottoms, the Ophelias, and others are on the Psychic Reader tribute, which is coming out alongside a reissue of the original, and we've already heard Squirrel Flower's take on "All-Nighter." Now, let's see what Ratboys did with the assignment.
Ratboys, the great Chicago indie band, have lately been working on a new album that I can't wait to hear, and bandleader Julia Steiner just teamed up with singer-songwriter Keaton Henson on the single "Lazy Magician." Now, Ratboys have taken on Bad Bad Hats' lovestruck jam "Joseph." Their cover is pretty faithful, but it really brings out the song's plaintive qualities. In a press release, Bad Bad Hats' Kerry Alexander has this to say:
What a treat to rediscover "Joseph" through Ratboys, one of the great live bands of our indie era. "Joseph" was one of the first truly collaborative Bad Bad Hats songs: Chris wrote the instrumental and I wrote the melody and lyrics on top of it. In their cover, I love how you can also hear the sum of the Ratboys' parts: Dave’s distinct guitar-shredding, Julia’s iconic voice, etc. And who is Joseph? I’ll never tell.
Below, check out Ratboys' "Joseph" cover and Bad Bad Hats' original.
The 10th anniversary edition of Psychic Reader is out 8/29.
