New Audio: clubdrugs Tackles Portishead’s “Sour Times”

Chicago-based, self-described goth pop duo clubdrugs have developed a reputation both locally and regionally for a genre-defying sound and for captivating live performances.

Last year, I wrote about “Waiting,” a slickly produced, hook-driven, club friendly bop featuring glistening synth arpeggios, tweeter and woofer rattling thump and a sinuous and propulsive bass line that serves as a lush bed for Maria’s yearning vocal to ethereally float over. It’s the sort of song that’s perfect for the lovelorn and heartbroken to dance while crying their hearts out on the dance floor.

To celebrate Valentine’s Day and the season of love, the Chicago-based outfit shared a cover of Portishead‘s “Sour Times” that turns the slow-burning, brooding torch ballad into a tense, club friendly industrial banger.

“As kids, we passed out Valentine’s to our friends to show we care. We miss that,” Maria shares. “This year, our Valentine is this sexy melancholic love song. We hope it resonates with everyone, no matter how they’re feeling this Valentine’s Day.”