Review: Dauzat St Marie - Robbers

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This cover of the hit song, Robbers, from The 1975 isn’t a new release for the Lousiana-born, LA-based duo, Dauzat St Marie (it’s pronounced doe-zaht, you’re welcome) but, some songs are just so good that you can’t help but keep coming back to them, and that’s definitely the case here.

Arguably the mark of any great song is one that can transcend genres and still be a great song. I think the same principle holds true for really great artists; the ability to take a massive, well-known song and flip it on its head to make it sound entirely their own, which is exactly what Heather St Marie and Mat Dauzat have done here with Robbers.

While Matt Healy’s original is moodier, haunting and more synth-heavy, Dauzat St Marie take a slightly lighter, groovier approach; less synths, more strings (specifically banjo and mandolin) in an arrangement which serves as an exciting contrast to the darker elements of the lyric. It feels like something that Bob Harris could be playing on country radio today. It’s the perfect sound for turning all the way up, rolling the windows down and just driving.

While by no means country artists, the superpower that Dauzat St Marie tap into again and again, regardless of the genre they’re working with (rock, folk, americana – they’ve done ‘em all) is Heather St Marie’s powerhouse vocal combined with the two’s tight, gorgeous harmonies. It’s the kind of sound you could pick out of a line-up (think of the iconic Backstreet Boys singalong cold open to an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine) if these two ever committed a crime and sang while they were doing it, they’d be screwed, because their sound is so uniquely them that they’d be convicted for sure.

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For anyone looking for a new band to fall in love with, look no further than Dauzat St Marie; you’ll find ‘em on whichever platform you get your music and there’s a whole playlist of original tracks and other incredible covers just waiting to be created. Last September, Heather and Mat played a short residency in Wexford, Ireland and wrapped a run of US dates on tour with REO Speedwagon and Rick Springfield in October. Here's hoping some more UK shows in the not-too-distant future. Until then, check out Dauzat St Marie on the links below.