SMASH MOUTH

Still unrepentant after all these years, SoCal punk legends Smash Mouth probably aren’t the first band you’d ask to serenade your Valentine. But that’s because you haven’t heard this – or maybe you have, but it didn’t sound like this.

“Blinding Lights” was a mega hit for The Weeknd back in 2020, a Single of the Year at the Juno Awards, Top Radio Song at the Billboard beanfeast, and MTV’s Video of the Year.

But what was once synth-whipped and tender is now Mach 2 mayhem, a thunderous collision of riff and rhythm that encapsulates all the emotion of the original recording, but simply dares you to deny its sincerity.

Smash Mouth’s Paul DeLisle recalls how the performance came about. “When I first started hearing ‘Blinding Lights’ on the radio all the time, several things inspired me about the song. First of all, my 12 year-old daughter loved it – always a good sign. And then there was The Weeknd’s voice, a wonderfully fresh and beautiful instrument. But most of all, I heard it as a rock song. One that could be transformed using the “quiet/loud” dynamic of a Nirvana or Smashing Pumpkins song. It’s an intense and urgent song, and I wanted to pronounce that dynamic. I’m very pleased with the result and I hope people like it.

“Blinding Lights” is not alone in its assaultive lonesomeness, either. There’s an entire album’s worth of Valentine crunchers heading straight towards you, and Smash Mouth are just one of the two dozen-plus punk legends lining up to eat your chocolates and scratch your arms with red rose thorns.

From British originals like The Vibrators, The Members and Slaughter and the Dogs, to universal legends Iggy Pop, the New York Dolls and the Flaming Groovies; from The Dickies, The Vandals and Fear to The Ataris, Samiam and Blink-182, Punk Rock Valentines is exactly what you need to hear when you wake up on Feb 14, whether “Your Boyfriend Sucks” or you’re “Looking for a Kiss” – and Smash Mouth… ah, Smash Mouth; you’ve not heard the last of them, because their punk rock Beatle classic “Love Me Do” is here as well.

But back to “Blinding Lights” for a moment, and yes, it really is blinding. And even Cupid is pogo-dancing while it plays.

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When SMASH MOUTH formed in San Jose in 1994, although nobody gave it much thought at the time, it was 32 years since the Beatles released their first British single, “Love Me Do,” in October 1962.

Now, 30 further years have elapsed, and the circle is closed as the SoCal punk party legends release their own version of that epochal Lennon-McCartney composition.

Recorded for a forthcoming punk Beatles tribute album, “Love Me Do” is the latest in a very select line of classic covers that Smash Mouth have released over the years – their version of the Monkees’ “I’m A Believer” remains a breathless delight, alongside a tremendous take on Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” and, last year, the Brady Bunch’s “Sunshine Day,” featuring none less than Greg Brady.

This is not their first go-round with the Beatles, either – back in 2005, they tackled the Fabs’ “Getting Better.”

“Love Me Do,” however, is special. Bassist and founder member Paul DeLisle says, “Of course Smash Mouth are all massive Beatles fans, and it’s such a huge honor to release this single. We were all super stoked to cover “Love Me Do” because we saw an opportunity to give a very different treatment to the Beatles’ very first top 20 hit.

“I personally hope people will hear the excitement and loving care we put into this recording. I’m pretty sure they will.”

SINGLE: https://orcd.co/smashmouth_lovemedo