“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,” the Montreal band frontman wrote on Instagram.
Wolf Parade’s Spencer Krug believes that everything takes time.
Over two decades after the release of the Montreal band’s 2005 hit “I’ll Believe in Anything,” the lead singer has shared a piano version of the track — after it experienced a major Heated Rivalry boost.
“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."
Krug’s rendition is equally as emotive as the original version, as his voice soars over the bouncy piano chords. In an Instagram post, the frontman details how he crafted this new version.
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“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.'”
He continues: “Slow down that middle section, chum, so you can stop vocally jazz-handing toward the bustout in the "da-da-duh-da-da-da" style of a cartoon vaudevillian twirling his cane. And have some actual fun on the piano.”
With the piano version fully realized, Krug said he “finally” has a rendition to confidently bring to his gigs “because it pays proper tribute to the Wolf Parade version — heartfelt, grandiose, cathartic, and a joy to play. I'm reminded of feelings I had two decades ago when first discovering what the song wanted to be,” he explains.
The release follows multiple synchs that the indie rock love ballad landed in the queer hockey drama. After first appearing in episode 3, the song soundtracked a pivotal scene two episodes later, notably titled "I'll Believe In Anything." After airing in December, Spotify reported that the song’s global streams increased by over 2,650% in the weeks following.
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“We had no idea that the song would trend the way it is, or that it would be such, like, a main character in that last episode,” Krug told The Globe and Mail, following the song’s success in episode 5.
As the craze for the Canadian hockey romance ramped up, the band announced that they’d be reissuingtheir critically-acclaimed debut album, Apologies to the Queen Mary, featuring the early aughts indie rock love song.
In addition to Wolf Parade, the show’s soundtrack features many Canadian artists, including Feist, Dumas, Alfa Rococo, Absolute Treat, Unessential Oils and more.
As Heated Rivalry is renewed for a likely even higher-profile second season, only time will tell which lucky Canadian artists land a synch in the viral TV show.
Listen to Krug’s piano version of “I’ll Believe In Anything” below:
