See Aubrie Sellers’ Ethereal Cover of Coldplay’s ‘Green Eyes’
When Aubrie Sellers introduced her breed of fuzzed-out, distortion-heavy country on her debut LP New City Blues, it was clear that she had a different way of hearing things: where some might sandwich a light flick of banjo between a chorus and verse, she put a spiral of blues-rock guitar. Where some might partner the classic twang and crisp range of her voice with a traditional tale of heartbreak, she slid it against a pounding, dangerous drumbeat. So, naturally, when she decided to tackle a version of Coldplay’s “Green Eyes,” she heard a way to give this softer number from the British foursome a moody, southern gothic treatment with an extra punch of pedal steel – and packed the performance into the back of a van. Watch the video, which debuted yesterday, above.
Drawing a line from Coldplay to country might seem far-fetched, but frontman Chris Martin actually once confessed that the title track from A Rush of Blood to the Head, the album that contains “Green Eyes,” was written as a tribute to Johnny Cash. The two men were set to record a duet together, “Til’ Kingdom Come,” but Cash passed away before they had a chance – it eventually became a hidden track on 2005’s X&Y. Martin has also openly admired Hank Williams, and has covered “Lost Highway” in concert on numerous occasions.
Sellers, whose New City Blues was one of Rolling Stone‘s best country albums of 2016, will spend her winter on the road with Miranda Lambert on her Highway Vagabond Tour.