Brothertiger “Torn Open”

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

I know, I know, I just wrote about Brothertiger covers of 80s tunes last week in the newsletter. I have to tell you, though, that when I saw Brothertiger had covered brother/sister duo Sophie and Peter Johnston’s “Torn Open,” one of my favorite songs, I was more than pleasantly surprised. While going through my New Music playlist from Apple Music on Friday, like I usually do, I spotted the familiar song title. I literally got goosebumps before I even heard the track.

When I did listen to the song, I marveled out how complete it is. The cover thoroughly captures the sophisti-pop brilliance of the original. Enlisting Yvette Young from the band COVET to cover the vocal parts from Sophie Johnston (which take up the majority of the song) just worked. The verses stop just short of being cloying, and the chorus soars. The vocals from frontman and Brothertiger himself, John Jagos, mainly serve to supplement Young’s. Jagos does a fantastic job mimicking the synth sound from the original track. This cover is a sophisti-pop master work.

Extra credit to those who read this piece examining the brilliant Brothertiger instrumental EP’s that came out during the pandemic.