We’ve got a lot of time for Field Guide. We’ve also got a lot of time for Lizzy McAlpine, so when we heard the former – AKA the Winnipeg-based Dylan McDonald – was covering Coldplay‘s seminal debut album Parachutes in full, we were intrigued. It strikes a sweet spot between faithful reproduction and giddy reinvention, with the kind of enthusiasm that will be familiar to those who’ve heard McDonald’s excellent debut Make Peace With That, released last month.
Intended as a stopgap of sorts while he puts together his second album – due next year with studio time booked – McDonald’s full-album cover of Parachutes lands in a few weeks. We’re announcing it today along with sharing live footage and the album version of a song that needs no introduction: ‘Yellow’. It’s the hit from that album, and McDonald approached it with understandable trepidation: “We were really nervous … It’s such a popular song. I changed the chords slightly and performed it live off the floor with the band as if I had just written it on acoustic, everyone played using their first instincts as if they’d never heard the song before, it turned out really natural. The addition of Lizzy’s incredible vocals really solidified the vibe, I’m really proud of this one.”
Expanding on the impetus behind the album, McDonald explains that ‘originally I had planned to perform Parachutes in its entirety with my band in Toronto; when live playing disappeared from the realm of possibility I shifted gears and decided to take the idea into studio land.’ The collection will also feature guest appearances from Dizzy‘s Katie Munshaw and Begonia, and arrives on Friday November 19th via Birthday Cake. If you’re intrigued, those two versions of ‘Yellow’ are below:
