Cape Breton’s Pretty Archie know when to break out a crowd-please or two, and they’re known to pepper their live sets with the occasional classic cover. And, the because they can, Pretty Archie have just released their cover of “Linger” from The Cranberries’ 1993 album Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?.
Already working with producer/engineer Jamie Foulds on their upcoming EP, they shot the video with Matthew Ingraham at Foulds’ studio in Sydney, Nova Scotia.
“We’ve always slipped a few covers into our sets here and there and we decided to record a few and release them while we are working on our next full length album,” says Pretty Archie’s Brian Cathcart. “We are familiar with Jamie and he has a great ear and a beautiful studio so this was done, pretty simple, off the floor over a Friday and Saturday night.
“The song ‘Linger’ is one we’ve played for the last few years and it’s been a crowd favourite. No matter where we go people always recognize The Cranberries and it also has a bit of nostalgia for some of us who grew up in the ’90s.”
The Irish burr of The Cranberries translates nicely into Cathcart’s drawl, with the alt rock hit finding a natural home amongst the mandolin and banjo, despite the bluegrass displacement.
“We were having fun just playing some old songs we knew in a ‘Pretty Archie’ style and this one fell right into place. It has some harmonies and played well in our set up and people really enjoyed it!,” says Cathcart. “It’s almost a definite request for us on the road so the fact that we enjoy playing it and people like to hear it in this style kept it alive for the last few years in our set list and ultimately led to us releasing it.”
This video is one in a series that the band will be releasing over the next month as they build up towards the release of their new EP.
“This is something we’ve wanted to do for a while and was more of a fun excuse to get some friends out to the studio and record some songs we’ve been playing for the last few years,” say Cathcart. “It was great to have Matthew Ingraham there to film some videos to sing along with!”
Pretty Archie’s new EP, Running For Cover, will be released digitally on March 27, 2020, with a physical release set to follow on May 1, 2020. The band are currently planning some summer tour dates and, in the meantime, you can catch them Living Roots Music Festival in Fredericton, NB.