We’re big fans of Girlpool and the special command that they have over melody and lyricism—and so is Radiator Hospital’s Sam Cook-Parrott. There’s a beautiful affinity between the two groups in their tender approach to writing pop songs, and a collision was only inevitable. Earlier this week, Girlpool came out with a live cover of the rousing “Cut Your Bangs” off of this year’s Torch Song, a moving rendition that brings Radiator Hospital’s bubble of emotion to a delicate simmer. And in turn, Radiator Hospital frontman Sam Cook-Parrott has offered a cover of Girlpool’s “Ideal World”, a new song that they have been performing at recent shows. He’s taken their steady, frustrated anthem and mellowed it out into a gently heartrending acoustic version, breathing a new sense of melancholy into a track about the pains of disillusionment. His vocals are dynamic as ever, dropping effortlessly from the louder croons of his high register to low notes that come in just above a whisper. Girlpool’s already crushing message takes on new depth as Cook-Parrott sighs down the line “Tranquilize me with your ideal world” with the soft strum of his guitar trailing close behind. Never one to be overly precious in making his music accessible, Cook-Parrott posted the video cover straight to Girlpool’s Facebook page; check it out below.
