Having originally featured on BlackPlastic.co.uk back in January, before the world went crazy, husband and wife duo Bevin Fernandez and Andrew Gomez are back with a new version of an old song. In a period that has triggered self reflection for many of us, NRVS LVRS have looked back at the oeuvre of Bruce Springsteen and pulled out his 1984 track from Born In The U.S.A., I’m On Fire, for a contemporary take rooted firmly in retrospection.
Recorded during lockdown from their home studio, NRVS LVRS take the percussive, momentum filled original and retain it’s quiet, contemplative sound whilst emphasising the dreamlike quality through the use of synthesisers, present in the original but given centre stage here. The result is a take that sounds more of the era the song was born in than even Springsteen’s original.
The last NRVS LVRS track I featured, Only Human, buzzed with a nervous energy. In contrast, I’m On Fire sounds slow, dramatic and haunted. Both songs sound a little reminiscent of Au Revoir Simone, innocent vocals surrounded in a feeling of nostalgia. But where Only Human felt like it could have been on the soundtrack to The Virgin Suicides, I’m On Fire is pure Twin Peaks, and would have easily found a place in the show’s weird, beautiful third season. It is a stark, haunting piece of music, drenched in drama and atmospheric.
Talking to Andrew, he acknowledged the fact that both he and Bevin love Twin Peaks and recently rewatched the series. Given it is one of the couple’s favourite shows, he isn’t surprised that I can hear David Lynch’s influence here. Indeed, Andrew mentioned the fact that he regularly watches Angelo Badalamenti’s explanation for how he wrote Laura Palmer’s Theme. If you haven’t ever watched the video and you have any interest in TV and film scores, it’s worth five minutes of your time.
I’m On Fire is a song that NRVS LVRS have always been drawn to, and Bevin explains what led them to release it now:
“We've always admired the song 'I'm On Fire' because it captures the feeling of intense longing and how difficult it is to cope with it. We played with this cover years ago when we were first starting as a two piece, and with so much time on our hands due to quarantine, we ended up recording this version of the song to see how our approach had changed. Soon after, most of California was on fire, and the song seemed to ring in our heads and rhyme with everything we were seeing around us. In fact, Andrew shot the cover photo of the red sky when we were up at my parents' place as fires were raging a couple miles away. We ended up having to evacuate a week later not knowing if we'd ever see their home again.
“Lyrically, the song captures our feelings of the moment well. Between existential and literal threats to life as we have known it, most of us are trying to cope and do our best as we are stuck inside going stir crazy & longing for a better time or just another person to help weather the storm with.”
I can’t help but feeling this version of I’m On Fire is a little bit perfect for the weird, dramatic and otherworldly year that has been 2020. Check it out below: