Australian music icons, Julia Jacklin and RVG, have released a cover of Björk’s 1995 hit Army of Me.
The collaboration was made to be included as a part of Melbourne’s RISING: SINGLES CLUB.
It’s a creative project which sees several Aussie artists recording covers of “lunar-themed tunes”, or as their website puts it: “A series of specially commissioned, celestial space jams, from some of our favourite musicians.”
Jacklin’s and RVG’s cover is the sixth entry in the project. Impressively, the track was recorded in a single day.
Listen to Julia Jacklin and RVG’s cover of ‘Army Of Me’ below.
When asked about the cover, Jacklin had this to say:
“I just love Björk, and I love RVG. I was running on a treadmill which I don’t do very often, and I was listening to ‘Army of Me’ over and over again to make me feel stronger than I am,” Jacklin said.
“Then I thought why not try and cover this song with another artist that makes me feel stronger than I am and I did! Was a good musical punch in the face to wake me up from a year of living a very small quiet life.”
“RVG are one of my favourite bands in the whole world and it was just a real blessing to spend some time with them making music.”
Wasn’t expecting an RVG/Julia Jacklin cover of Bjork’s ‘Army of Me’ for my birthday, but I’m not complaining: https://t.co/6vYmt9p6Mu
— Bird Michael From Twitt℮r (@wtb_Michael) May 27, 2021
The Melbourne-based RVG also had nothing but good things to say about Jacklin.
“We adore Julia’s music and were thrilled when she asked us to do a precious Björk song with her. I think we all wanted to challenge ourselves to be as intuitive as possible.”
As a cover junkie, please do enjoy this cover of Bjork’s “Army Of Me” by Julia Jacklin and RVG. I think it is wonderful.https://t.co/Fbne48FUD3
— Gary Clark (@GaryClark82) May 28, 2021
The cover has been receiving nothing but praise, with one outlet describing it as: “a powerful rework, combining the intensity and frenetic energy of the classic with Julia and RVG’s own distinctive sound”.
Apart from being a part of the RISING: SINGLES CLUB, the track is also a welcome addition to the discographies of Jacklin and RVG, whose performances at Melbourne’s RISING Festival were cancelled this week following Victoria’s lockdown.
Before Army of One, Jacklin released a Christmas song, and RVG released their album Feral.
