Robotic Empire has previously released two Nirvana tribute albums in the past, including last year’s Whatever, Nevermind, which featured cover tracks from La Dispute, Torche, Touché Amoré, and Circa Survive.
This year, the third in the series, Doused in Mud, Covered in Bleach, will be released on April 16, which also happens to be Record Store Day. Thanks to Alternative Press, we have Circa Survive’s cover of “Love Buzz,” and as expected, it’s fantastic. It’s a perfect song for this band to take and do its thing with. The bridge is just as destructive as the original; vocalist Anthony Green does Kurt Cobain justice as he creeps through the chorus singing, “Can you feel my love buzz?” and eventually screaming it, leading into the transitions.
There will be a special vinyl edition available in stores for RSD; not sure how limited the run will be quite yet. It will also be released digitally. You will receive “Love Buzz” with any pre-order from Bandcamp, iTunes, etc.
Check out the song and track listing below, as well as what Anthony Green and Circa guitarist Brendan Ekstrom had to say about covering “Love Buzz,” which was actually a cover song that Nirvana did for Bleach.
Alternative Press: Was it difficult to create a cover of a cover?
Ekstrom: No. It’s hard to explain but in my mind “Love Buzz” is a Nirvana song. It’s one of the first songs that I obsessed over when I was 14 years old and was learning to play guitar. At the time, I thought Nirvana wrote it. It just fit so well with the rest of the record. Their energy was so special that they could make any song they played sound like it was theirs. To me, “Man Who Sold The World” and “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” became Nirvana songs because they were the versions that were driven into my brain over and over as a teenager. I didn’t need to listen to the originals when the band who was making me believe in music had their own amazing version for me to listen to.
AP: With the variety of tracks on “Bleach”, what made you choose to record “Love Buzz”?
Green: “Love Buzz” might have been the first Nirvana song I ever heard. It’s simple but hits so hard. I remember listening to it and feeling like “I could do this” because of how accessible it felt.
AP: How did Jon Simmons of Balance and Composure come into the picture as a collaborating artist?
Green: It’s funny because Jon was finishing some vocals for a new Balance song and just happened to be in the studio and seeing the opportunity to do something fun with him, I sort of forced him to track it with me. He is one of my favorite singers and Balance is one of my favorite bands. I feel so lucky to have a track out there of one of my favorite songs with both of us singing on it.
Track list for Doused in Mud, Soaked in Bleach:
Defeater – Blew
Thou – Floyd the Barber
Beach Slang – About a Girl
Basement – School
Circa Survive – Love Buzz
This Will Destroy You – Paper Cuts
Young Widows – Negative Creep
Mean Jeans – Scoff
Rob Crow’s Gloomy Place – Swap Meet
The Fall of Troy – Mr. Moustache
Big Hush – Sifting
Daughters – Big Cheese
The Saddest Landscape – Downer
