Hear Empath’s cover of Lucinda Williams’s “Drunken Angel”

Philadelphia noise punks Empath are not a band to sit still. Having recently reissued their debut album after signing with Fat Possum, the band has recorded a cover of Lucinda Williams' "Drunken Angel" ahead of a lengthy set of tour dates which will take the band across Europe before a lengthy run of North American shows.

"Drunken Angel," a song written by Williams about her late friend Blaze Foley after he was shot and killed in 1989, is a different beast in Empath's hands. The band layer the song in a sonic fuzz, turning it from a tentative heartbreaker into something spikier while retaining the original's striking sense of melody.

Speaking to The FADER via email, Catherine Elicson of the band said: "We were interested in reworking a song outside of our typical style of music. We also wanted to pay homage to Lucinda Williams, one of the greatest living songwriters. So we dragged 'Drunken Angel' through the Empath filter, and the result is what made it to the other side. Lucinda, we hope you don’t hate it!"

You can read FADER's GEN F interview with Empath here.

Empath will play:

10/26 - Toulon, FR @ Le Port Des Creatures (Midi Festival)
10/28 - Brussels, BE @ Botanique
10/30 - Paris, FR @ TBA
11/1 - Bristol, UK @ The Crofters Rights
11/2 - London, UK @ Dingwalls (Mirrors Festival)
11/3 - Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2
11/4 - Manchester, UK @ The Star and Garter
11/5 - Glasgow, SCT @ The Hug and Pint
11/6 - Sheffield, UK @ Record Junkee
11/9 - Utrecht, NL @ Le Guess Who Festival
11/12 - Koln, DE @ Blue Shell
11/13 - Berlin, DE @ Cassiopeia
11/14 - Hamburg, DE @ Molotov SkyBar
11/16 - Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew's Hall ~
11/18 - Chicago, IL @ Metro ~
11/19 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Rex Theater ~
11/20 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer ~
11/22 - Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom ~
11/23 - Worcester, MA @ Palladium ~
11/24 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club ~
11/26 - Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry ~
11/27 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle ~
11/29 - Charlotte, NC @ The Underground ~
11/30 - Orlando, FL @ The Beacham Theatre ~
12/1 - Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum ~
12/2 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade ~
12/3 - Nashville, TN @ The Basement East ~
12/5 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall ~
12/6 - Austin, TX @ Mohawk ~
12/7 - San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger ~
12/8 - Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater ~
12/11 - Mesa, AZ @ Nile Theatre ~
12/12 - San Diego, CA @ House of Blues ~
12/13 - Los Angeles, CA @ Belasco Theater ~
12/15 - Reno, NV @ Holland Project
12/17 - Dever, CO @ Hi Dive
12/18 - Lawrence, KS @ White Schoolhouse
12/20 - Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR

~ w/ La Dispute & Touche Amore

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Thumbnail image via Daniel Topete.