Lydia Hol delivers a dark and dreamy take on a Hall & Oates classic with her new single and video Rich Girl — premiering exclusively on Tinnitist.
A preview of the Vancouver singer-songwriter’s upcoming EP Love and Devotion, Hol’s take on the Philadelphia soul-pop duo’s ’70s classic sets her sultry, sensually smouldering vocal against a hazy, desert-dry twang that wouldn’t be out of place at Twin Peaks’ Bang Bar Roadhouse.
“(It’s) Hall & Oates meet Joan Didion in a big box parking lot,” cracks Hol. “I’d wanted to do a cover of Rich Girl for years — there’s something about the song that I just love. My bass player wrote the darker, modified bass line and suggested the sparse arrangement. As we experimented with the band, the lyrics took on a darker dystopian meaning, and seemed to rewrite themselves for this version. “
It fits right in with the rest of Love and Devotion. Due out June 4, the EP paints a surrealist California dreamscape midway between Slouching Towards Bethlehem and Blue Velvet. The album reflects on the hidden side of Hollywood glamour and one’s insignificance in the greater cosmic order, but explores both through a prism of beauty and tenderness. Over instrumentals that are meditative, super layered, and at times psychedelic, a complex and lyrical poetry invites us to reflect on our collective present moment.
Watch Rich Girl above, hear more from Lydia Hol below, and keep up with her on her website, Facebook and Instagram.
