After Canadian indie rock band Wolf Parade’s 2005 song “I’ll Believe in Anything” zoomed back into the spotlight thanks to a sync in the buzzy gay hockey-themed show Heated Rivalry, group member Spencer Krug has unveiled a solo piano version of the track today (Feb. 20) through Sub Pop.
Spotify streams for “I’ll Believe in Anything” have doubled from 20 to 40 million since Heated Rivalry premiered on HBO Max in November, which has pushed Wolf Parade’s monthly listeners past two million. Krug debuted the piano rendition in Vancouver last month, and was moved by the overwhelming response to record it properly. The original version can be found on Wolf Parade’s beloved 2005 debut full-length, Apologies to the Queen Mary.
“I’ve made a few different solo versions of this song over the years. This is easily the best one, second only to Wolf Parade’s rendition,” Krug wrote on Instagram. “Twenty plus years after the song was first written, time and age bestow their pearls: change that key, friend, so you don’t have to scream to reach the high notes in a room otherwise vibrating with just the piano’s soft plunk. Tweak those lyrics, bud, so you’re not forced to sing the word ‘drips’ simply because it sort of rhymes with the word ‘hit.’ Slow down that middle section, chum, so you can stop vocally jazz-handing toward the bust-out in the ‘da-da-duh-da-da-da’ style of a cartoon vaudevillian twirling his cane. And have some actual fun on that piano.”
“I feel like I finally have a solo version of the song that I can bring to my solo sets, that I can sincerely stand behind, because it pays proper tribute to the Wolf Parade version — heartfelt, grandiose, cathartic and a joy to play,” he continued. “I’m reminded of feelings I had two decades ago when first discovering what the song wanted to be.”
Wolf Parade will be back in action with a handful of Canadian shows in mid-March, while Krug will also return to Vancouver for another solo show on June 5.
