If the great original material tangential Milwaukee indie-pop project Eric & Magill churn out at an amazing clip—especially given the well-reported fact that the duo is split between Brooklyn and remote Kenya—isn’t impressive enough on its own, the pair also manages to take the time to release aurally elegant covers of songs written by their friends. Those friends just so happen to be in outstanding bands like Shearwater, The Snake The Cross The Crown, and Faux Fir.
The follow-up to 2011’s first Kick The Covers volume finds Milwaukee ex-pats Ryan Weber and Eric Osterman (who, between them, were in celebrated acts like The Promise Ring, Camden, and Decibully) taking on material by Maritime and Braid. The two-song release features hushed, dreamy renditions of “First Day Back” (off Braid’s Frame & Canvas) and Maritime Heresy And The Hotel Choir deep cut “Aren’t We All Found Out.”
“We’ll release some other volumes down the road, but since Braid has been busy on the road and with a new release coming up we thought now would be a good time to make this available,” Weber says.
Both Kick The Covers volumes will be available on Eric & Magill’s Bandcamp page Thursday, free of charge. Weber says Eric & Magill will release a full-length (of original material) this fall.