Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi Birgisson performed songs and did an interview today on BBC Radio 1 to promote his forthcoming solo album, Go. Though Jónsi performed his brilliant new single “Go Do” of course, it was his choice of cover song that caught my eye: MGMT’s “Time to Pretend.”
The latest song from Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden has been a bit divisive of late, but there’s certainly no denying this gem from their debut, especially with Jónsi on the vox. His version does strip away all the irony and tongue-in-cheek fun of MGMT’s original version, but in exchange Jónsi’s less-layered take carries the tune to another planet with only a single piano as his rocket ship.
Stream “Time to Pretend” here or below:
And by the way, MGMT’s Congratulations leaked, so the band are now streaming the album in its entirety here.