love vigilantes

Love Vigilantes is my favorite New Order song. Released on the 1985 Low-Life, the band’s third album, it was over-shadowed by the singles Perfect Kiss and Sub-Culture. Love Vigilantes was never remixed and it is absent from all of the many best of compliations, but it was far from ignored by fans.


New Order – Love Vigilantes (buy from iTunes)

Iron & Wine (more correctly Sam Beam, normally the only musician in Iron & Wine) must be among those fans as they have just covered Love Vigilantes. Their version transforms New Order’s guitar and synth driven mid-tempo track into a quiet, acoustic arrangement appropriate for its melancholy lyrics.

I think the result is sad and beautiful, and it is one of the best songs I have heard in a while. Iron & Wine’s cover is available on an EP produced exclusively for iTunes. Sam is joined by his sister Sarah for harmonies on this special recording.

Iron & Wine – Love Vigilantes (buy from iTunes)

You can also download the mp3 for Iron & Wine – Love Vigilantes from In House with Jeremy Peterson (it’s song 7).