Dehd share a cover of Marcy Playground song ‘Sex and Candy’
Dehd are one of the most exciting young indie rock bands in America right now. With elements of old-school slacker rock like Pavement and hardcore DNA shred with bands like Turnstile, the Chicago trio can do everything from haunting ballads to frenetic surf rock without sounding ridiculous. But sometimes, you have to push the boundaries of ridiculousness to see where the line truly is.
That’s seemingly how the band got caught up performing a rendition of Marcy Playground’s post-grunge quasi-classic ‘Sex and Candy’ when they visited the studio of SiriusXMU. Emily Kempf’s beyond-low bray is uniquely suited for imitating the mumbled drawl of Marcy Playground lead singer John Wozniak, and Dehd step up with a mostly-faithful rendition of the track, give or take a few lyrical flip-flops.
A cover like this doesn’t come about without some genuine appreciation for the original. ‘Sex and Candy’ is not one of the more beloved tracks of the late-1990s alternative rock movement, and covers by dubiously talented groups like Maroon 5 have left a salty taste in the mouths of former fans of the track. It’s not that ‘Sex and Candy’ is a bad song (I would argue it’s actually quite good); it just has a strange mix of post-grunge imposter syndrome and a set of slightly too-dumb lyrics.
Usually, it’s not a strong sign when the lead singer and songwriter doesn’t claim to know what his own song is about, but ‘Sex and Candy’ is a funny kind of Rorschach test for listeners to interpret. What is disco lemonade? Is looking like double cherry pie a compliment? Who really is that lounging in his chair? It’s all very strange to try and make sense of, and most of the time, the lyrics don’t make any sense. The song is also a slow burner, which doesn’t exactly have a ton of excitement behind it.
And yet, despite all this, there’s something so alluring and pleasing about ‘Sex and Candy’. So much so that covers like Dehd’s continue to pop up now and again. The song has a weird amount of legs for a 25-year-old remnant of the post-grunge era. In a time where the line between genuine appreciation and irony is either razor-thin or non-existent, Dehd’s cover of ‘Sex and Candy’ is a welcome recreation of the song’s original ethos.
Check out the cover of ‘Sex and Candy’ down below.
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