The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Cover James’ "Laid," Announce 'Hell' EP [LISTEN]

New York-based indie-pop band The Pains of Being Pure at Heart has announced a new three-track EP entitled Hell which will be released on Nov. 13 via their own label, Painbow. The announcement came with the EP's first track, a cover of James' early 90s hit, "Laid." Listen to the new track via the band's Soundcloud, below.

Featuring vocals from Philly-based shoegaze pop outfit A Sunny Day in Glasgow's Jen Goma (who also sang on the previous TPOBPAH album), The Pains of Being Pure at Heart's version of "James" is more than the countless karaoke-style covers the song has very likely received at open mic nights since its 1993 release.

While it is certainly a nod to one of the band's many influences, they manage to make the song something totally their own. SPIN has already declared the James cover "every bit as ethereal and bodily as the original." Watch the video for the original "Laid," below.

Hell is the band's follow-up to 2014's Days of Abandon. As reported by Stereogum, frontman Kip Berman has explained that "the EP was spurred by the positive reception to some outtakes he shared online back in August." The EP will serve as a kick-off for the band's forthcoming tour of Japan.

Hell also includes a cover of Felt's "Ballad of the Band." As Berman stated in a press release, "The Felt song is really the UR-Felt song, the wry articulation of what Felt is most famous for - not being an eighth as famous as they ought to be."

Felt is one of those post-punk alternative bands that rose to prominence in England in the 1980s but has since been nearly forgotten outside audiophile circles. Their influence can be heard in other bands like Belle & Sebastian and Girls. As Spin asserts in their aforementioned report, "that Felt cover is bound to be something special, given the lilting similarities between the pair of bands."