Two queer icons collide in Orville Peck's cover of Bronski Beat

A press shot of Orville Peck on a pride flag background — (Image credit: Sub Pop)

Covers can be a difficult thing to get right. Produce a rendition too faithful to the original and chances are it'll fail to make much of an impact; push it too far and you risk disconnecting the song from what made it something worth paying attention to in the first place.

But rising US alt-country star Orville Peck has a knack for crafting stories through his own perspective. His narratives draw you into his universe so completely that you often feel like you're experiencing this alternate reality right alongside him. This is absolutely the case on his 2019 debut album, Pony – it's also the case in his cover of Bronski Beat's 1984 queer anthem Smalltown Boy.

The synthpop of the original gives way to woozy alt-country with a Southern-fried twang. Our lonely boy from the original is transported from 1980s Britain to the American frontier. Like the original it's mournful, tender and yearns for a better reality which seems just out of grasp. If the story feels like it's Peck's to tell, that's because it is. It's a story that belongs to queer communities all over the globe.

Part of the Spotify Singles series, Smalltown Boy celebrates Pride month as it comes to a close and helps mark the 51st anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Check it out below.

Briony is the Editor in Chief of Louder and is in charge of sorting out who and what you see covered on the site. She started working with Metal Hammer, Classic Rock and Prog magazines back in 2015 and has been writing about music and entertainment in many guises since 2009. Her favourite-ever interviewee is either Billy Corgan or Kim Deal. She is a big fan of cats, Husker Du and pizza.