Listen to The Gaslight Anthem’s heavy cover of Billie Eilish’s ‘Ocean Eyes’

The Gaslight Anthem have shared a heavy cover of Billie Eilish’s ‘Ocean Eyes’. The New Jersey rockers’ cover of the 2016 hit, which served as the lead single on her 2017 EP ‘Don’t Smile At Me, starts off with a haunting vocalisation before jumping straight into a loud drumbeat and chugging guitar while frontman Brian Fallon juxtaposes Eilish’s original soft vocals with his raspy voice. The song also features backing vocals by psych-jam bassist/bandleader Karina Rykman.

Speaking about their decision to cover ‘Ocean Eyes’ in a statement (via Stereogum), Fallon shared: “I was driving my daughter to school and she played it for me on the way and I really took to the song. Then one day we were talking ideas for a cover with our friends and I said, wouldn’t it be cool to do a heavier version of ‘Ocean Eyes’? I tried it out and everybody loved the idea.”

Speaking to Live For Live Music about her involvement on the cover, Rykman said: “Brian said they were doing a Billie Eillish cover and asked if I wanted to sing on it with him. Obviously I said yes immediately! So cool of him, and I love the way it turned out. The EP is produced by Butch Walker and I love the sonic decisions he made. I’m honored to play a small part!”. The cover is featured on The Gaslight Anthem’s latest EP ‘History Books – Short Stories’. The four track EP also features the tracks ‘Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts’ and the acoustic versions of their songs ‘Positive Charge’ and ‘History Books’.