English Teacher have a shared a soothing cover of Billie Eilishâs recent single âBirds Of A Featherâ.
The rising indie rockers and former NME Cover stars performed a downbeat version of the track on Jack Saunders’ New Music Show on BBC Radio 1 on Tuesday (July 16). You can listen to it below.
Speaking about why she did the cover, frontwoman Lily Fontaine said: “I remember the exact moment we chose to do it, I listened to the song and I cried and then I sent it to the lads. I thought, ‘OK this song’s pretty popular and it’s good’ and that was it.”
The song, which was released by Eilish on July 2, also featured on a teaser for season three of Netflixâs Heartstopper and is taken from her recent album ‘Hit Me Hard And Soft’.
English Teacher previously covered The Smiths‘ âBig Mouth Strikes Againâ and LCD Soundsystem‘s âNew York, I Love You But Youâre Bringing Me Downâ at the Gorilla venue in Manchester.
The band’s debut album âThis Could Be Texasâ was recently given a glowing five-star review by NME, and described as establishing the members as some who âdare to dreamâ. It also featured in NME‘s best albums of 2024 so far.
âYouâve probably heard English Teacher compared to Squid and Black Country, New Road, but thereâs so much colour on the palette of this record than you may have thought,â it read.
âWhat you have in âThis Could Be Texasâ is everything you want from a debut; a truly original effort from start to finish, an adventure in sound and words, and a landmark statement.â
Elsewhere, the band recently spoke to NMEÂ about their love for Sheffield songwriter Richard Hawley and his Standing At The Sky’s Edge musical.
“After our recent New York show, I went outside and a guy came up to me and said, ‘I really enjoyed the set. I live here but I’m from Sheffield’,” Fontaine said. “I told him I went to see [Standing At The Sky’s Edge]. It was pretty crazy… he then told me this mad story about him. I was like, ‘What am I doing in New York, and why is this guy talking to me about Richard Hawley?’
“I loved it, I cried,” she continued. “I wasn’t sure if Richard’s music would translate into a musical but it was really special. I don’t want to give the story away, but [in the show] there was this mixed-race girl from Yorkshire and the story was all about home. I really related to a lot of the themes in it. To have Richard’s music soundtracking it too â it all felt really personal and special.”
Meanwhile, Eilish is set to read a childrenâs bedtime story on CBeebies tomorrow (July 19).
She joins stars like Harry Styles, Dave Grohl, Dolly Parton, Elton John, Tom Hardy, Ed Sheeran and IDLES frontman Joe Talbot in appearing on the childrenâs TV series.