Brooklyn indie rock band Pom Pom Squad released their sophomore EP, Ow, last year, and followed that with “Red With Love” in February. Today we’re premiering a new cover from the band, of Tommy James and the Shondells‘ 1968 “Crimson + Clover.” They give the song a grungy, fuzzed out spin, as well as a queer female perspective, and here’s what lead singer and guitarist Mia Berrin has to say about it:
This year would have been my first Pride as an ‘out’ person. It took me a long time to come to terms with my identity in a true and honest way, but I am proud to meet myself where I am now. This year, the idea of walking down a street proudly, in my queerness and in my brown skin, feels particularly difficult for a multitude of obvious reasons, but this song is my small celebration of the scary, complicated, empowering process of owning my black, queer identity.
Stream “Crimson + Clover,” and see the cover art, below.
Meanwhile, in honor of Juneteenth, the annual holiday celebrating the end of slavery, Bandcamp is donating their share of sales today (6/19) to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Over 70 artists and labels are making donations of their own in honor of the day, and that includes Pom Pom Squad — they are donating their Bandcamp sales to For the Gworls Medical Fund, a PoC lead Emergency Medical Relief Medical Fund that pays for black trans folks to travel to clinics and pharmacies during this time, as well as provide co-pay assistance if needed so that they can continue to receive important prescriptions.
