Listen to Titus Andronicus’ Mesmerizing Cover of the Weeknd’s ‘The Hills’

Earlier this summer, Titus Andronicus dropped The Most Lamentable Tragedy, a five-act rock opera that serves as an extended metaphor for depression. With that in mind, it may come as less of a surprise that the New Jersey punks could find common ground with the Weeknd’s Beauty Behind the Madness, an album often submerged in a dark, guilt-ridden interior.

Titus Andronicus leader Patrick Stickles proves there’s a fair connection between the two artists in a new cover of the Weeknd’s “The Hills” for SiriusXMU. Stickles strips back the bombast and theatrics of TMLT and instead opts for a stripped-down rendition, delivering a tortured take on the Weeknd’s central confession: “When I’m f---ed up, it’s the real me.” Take a listen to Titus Andronicus’ version at the top of the page, then compare it to the original below.

This isn’t the band’s first turn at an excellent, well-placed cover. They played the Replacement’s “Bastards of Young” with the Hold Steady’s Craig Finn during their record release show for TMLT in Brooklyn.

Titus Andronicus’ tour continues on Sept. 11, when they’ll play a show in Philadelphia. Then, they have North American stops scheduled through Ocotber before they head to the U.K. See a complete schedule right here.