A.V. Undercover: Ducks Ltd. cover They Might Be Giants' "They'll Need A Crane"
They Might Be Giants have covered two songs for A.V. Undercover—Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping” in season two and then Destiny’s Child’s “Bills, Bills, Bills” in season six. And today marks the second time they’ve had a song covered in the series, after Titus Andronicus chose “Birdhouse In Your Soul” in 2011. Ducks Ltd., with the second pick from season nine’s list of 25 songs, gave us a fun rendition of TMBG’s 1989 single “They’ll Need a Crane.”
The Canadian jangle-pop duo released one of our favorite albums of the year back in February, their sophomore LP Harm’s Way. With his bandmate Evan Lewis back in Toronto, singer-guitarist Tom McGreevy brought a few friends from Philadelphia band Grocer along to help him tackle the classic track about the ruins of a relationship.
“It felt like a good fit for this thing specifically because I’ve always admired their songwriting,” McGreevy says, “but I feel like aesthetically we could hardly be less aligned. And so it felt like an interesting challenge.”
Watch Ducks Ltd. cover They Might Be Giant’s “They’ll Need a Crane” at Second Take Sound in midtown Manhattan.