“The song itself is an anthem to those of us who feel, at times, like the outsider, the awkward kid who can’t relate and who feels like no one understands them and like they don’t belong. In that way, it’s timeless and transcends the decade it was created.” -Will Carpenter, Ships Have Sailed
One of the most iconic alt-rock songs of the 90s, Radiohead’s “Creep” has gone on to become an anthem for many and a window into empathy for others. This track was the one that introduced the world to the musical institution led by Thom Yorke in 1992 and to this day, it continues to influence artists across the world.
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Anyone can take a well-known song and do their thing with it, but when you’re a truly special musician and you can make it your own, that’s when the magic happens and everyone is immediately on board with your transformation of the old and known into the new and fresh. Today’s band -Ships Have Sailed- has done just that.
Things have been relatively quiet news-wise since the release of Ships Have Sailed’s Sophomore album, “Ages”, but that all changed with the release of a double mix release of their cover of Radiohead’s legendary song about a social outcast with no self-esteem who finds himself tortuously in-love with someone they see as perfect and angelic.
The idea to make this song their own came to founder and vocalist Will Carpenter in the form of a challenge of sorts from a musical mentor of his that came about during the pandemic period to make and cover a list of songs from the 90s that influenced Will’s artistry, with him saying of the process: “I started down a kind of electronic, industrial, vocoder-driven road, which turned out really amazing but something about the intimacy of the piano part (and a nudge from a friend who I showed the industrial version to) led me to reimagine the reimagination with only a piano and a weird, diffused cello.”
Though this cover is obviously outside of the “Ages” album, it does come in its wake with a purpose, as It seems that the tonal shift from the Industrial Mix to the “Weird, diffused Cello” mix follows the band’s current optimistic creative approach, as both versions manage to elicit two very distinct emotional responses that make the act of covering this song well worth it.
