Ducks Ltd. – Easy Come, Easy Go (feat. Martin Courtney)
Ducks Ltd. have covered Grant McLennan’s “Easy Come, Easy Go” from his first solo record, Watershed, released in 1987 right after The Go-Betweens called it quits. The Toronto duo bring along Martin Courtney of Real Estate for the ride, out now on Royal Mountain/Carpark Records.
Guitarist/vocalist Tom McGreevy is upfront about the source material’s appeal: “We’re on the record as being big Go-Betweens fans, and this song is from my favourite Go-Between Grant McLennan’s first solo record from right after the band broke up. I think it’s one of his best songs. It uses figurative language in a way that feels plain spoken and direct, and it incorporates contemporary imagery in a way that feels timeless. If it had been on a Go-Betweens album it would have been one of their classics”. High praise, but it frames exactly why this pick makes sense — McLennan’s solo work sits in a strange gap in indie canon history, consistently underrated even by fans who know the main catalog well.
The session came together quickly. The band had a day off during a tour run and drove up to Courtney’s studio in Beacon, NY. McGreevy again: “This was our first time working with Martin and it was really fun! We went to his extremely haunted studio in Beacon, NY on a day off on tour and did the whole track in one day. It was super interesting to work with someone who has been making a similar kind of music to us for a long time. Our overall processes and instincts were super similar, but he had some insights and ideas we would never have arrived at on our own”. That shared vocabulary between Ducks Ltd. and Real Estate is audible — jangly guitar pop built on melodic hooks and clean production, no friction in the collaboration. What I find interesting is how the cover sits comfortably within the band’s own sound rather than reaching for something different; it reads like a natural entry in their catalog, not a detour.
