Tall Juan’s She Devils Cover Captures The Spirit Of ’90s Punk
The Queens-based rocker pays tribute to fellow Argentinians with his cover of their song, “Baby.”
Tall Juan has floppy hair, cool tattoos, and is generally a heartthrob — in that greaser, snuff-out-your-Lucky-Strike-and-spit-on-the-ground kind of way. Even his label likens him to a "Latin Elvis." But on "Baby," the new song from his upcoming album Olden Goldies, the Queens-based rocker makes a point to root his influences in a riot grrrl/queercore spirit.
Much like the original track by Argentinian punk band She Devils, Juan’s cover of “Baby,” premiering today on The FADER, sounds out below a layer of lo-fi noise that's characteristic of D.I.Y. punk. He channels the twangy, upbeat chord progressions of fuzz-folk as he croons the hook in earnestness: "Hey baby que vas a hacer/ Quedate donde quieran que estes/ Haciendo lo que sea que quieran que hagas" (which translates roughly to "Hey baby what are you gonna do?/ Are you gonna stay where they want you to stay?/ Doing whatever they want you to do?/ We want to get away from here").
"[She Devils are] a big influence for me," Tall Juan wrote in an email to The FADER. "They fought for women's rights, LGBTQ rights, and were advocates for freedom of choice. I dedicate this song to all the people in my life who struggle and support them in their fight against this macho world."
Tall Juan's Olden Goldies is out May 5 via BUFU Records. Listen to "Baby" below.
Tour dates
4/14: Coachella - Indio, CA
4/17: Resident - Los Angeles, CA
4/18: The Continental - Fullerton, CA
4/21: Coachella - Indio, CA
4/23: Hemlock Tavern - San Francisco, CA
5/3: Brooklyn Bazaar - Brooklyn, NY
5/4: Middle East - Cambridge, MA
5/18: La Mecanique Ondulatoire - Paris, France
5/19: Le Mange Disc - Montreuil, France
5/20: Le Bar a Mines - Tours, France
5/22: Le Ravelin - Toulouse, France
5/24: Le Magneto - Bayonne, France
5/25: Awambabuluba Club - Barcelona, Spain
5/26: 16 Toneladas - Valencia, Spain
5/27: GetMAD! Festival - Madrid, Spain
5/28: Radar Estudios - Vigo, Spain
5/31: Lata de Zinc - Oviedo, Spain
6/01: Le Trokson - Lyon, France
6/02: Casotto - Lugano, Switzerland
6/03: Horst Klub - Kreuzlingen, Switzerland
6/04: Urban Spree - Berlin, Germany
6/07: Shacklewell Arms - London, UK
6/08: TBA - Bristol, UK
6/09: The Printworks - Hastings, UK
6/10: Butcher's Tears - Amsterdam, Netherlands