On 28 July Evert Snyman will be releasing a covers album, All Killer Filler, featuring songs from the likes of Tom Waits and Smashing Pumpkins and as a teaser he’s given us his rendition of Paul McCartney’s “Temporary Secretary”.
Note for note there’s nothing to tell between the two, McCartney’s (divisively) repetitive staccato synth-sequence, as well as the rhythm section, remain wholly intact – this being a true-to-original-form cover – although with a production quality that blows the original out the water.
The main difference, then, lies in the vocals. The devilish, sinister timbre of Snyman’s voice, as he dances around as a one-man band in high-contrast black and white with splashes of technicolour, takes the song to a place more grounded and intriguing than the tortured flashes of a pseudo-American accent and overly-nasal choruses of the original ever could.
Said timbre swaps McCartney’s humourous imaginings of writing in to hire a temporary secretary for ominous subtextual questions about why one may really need or want one and, in so doing, tees All Killer Filler up to be an album of surprise and fascination.
Feature pic supplied by artist
