Dead Confederate release cover of seven-year-old song by Boston's Officer May

Published Dec 21 2009, 10:37 AM by Carly Carioli

Unless you were hanging out in Allston in the early aughts, chances are you've never heard of OFFICER MAY. Phoenix readers may recall that we fucking loved those guys back in 2003, and have continued to adore pretty much everything that frontman CHRIS WARREN has put out, including his post-OM bands DIRTY HOLIDAY and BEAT AWFULS, a ridculously unsung solo album and not-often-enough releases by his latest band, VIVA VIVA.

But there's at least one high-profile band that hasn't forgotten about Officer May. That'd be Athens, Georgia's DEAD CONFEDERATE, who've just released a free-to-download live album that kicks off with a lacerating cover of the title track from Officer May's final album, SMOKING IN A MINOR.

A quick YouTube search also turns up a video of the Athens supergroup JOHN COUGAR TRAININGCAMP (which featured members of Dead Confederate) covering the same Officer May track earlier this year, alongside covers of Nirvana and the Velvet Underground.

As shocked as we are to see Dead Confederate so heavily championing a wholly unknown and defunct band like Officer May, it's not difficult to understand why. Both bands rather uncannily channeled the spirit -- in oblique but recognizable ways -- of Kurt Cobain. More specifically, they seemed to draw upon the piercing energy of Bleach-era Nirvana, when Cobain's music still sounded rural, wiry, weird, and unfinished. There are exactly three bands who've ever managed to make something credibly new and engaging out of those ashes. Dead Confederate and Officer May are two of them. (The third, we'd argue, was Verbena.)

In any case, we hope this begins to get the word out about what an awesome band OFFICER MAY were, and hastens their addition to the post-grunge canon, leading perhaps to some ridiculous reunion-show offers for All Tomorrow's Parties 2018 when the next revival sets in. Above, you can click on the widget to listen or download Dead Confederate's version. Below: the original, in studio and live versions.

DOWNLOAD: Officer May, "Smoking In A Minor" (mp3)

Filed Under: Dead Confederate, Officer May, Viva Viva

Dead Confederate

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Filed Under: Dead Confederate, Officer May, Viva Viva

Boston Phoenix
Dead Confederate release cover of seven-year-old song by Boston's Officer May
Published 12/21/2009 by Carly Carioli
Unless you were hanging out in Allston in the early aughts, chances are you've never heard of OFFICER MAY. Phoenix readers may recall that we...

WFNX Radio
Best Worst Nu-Metal Band, Dead Confederate and WTF?
Published 3/6/2009 by Charlie
The Nu-Metal bands return to duke it out, Dead Confederate performs live and we check the ...

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