Free at Noon Flashback: Flo Morrissey and Matthew E. White put a psychedelic twist on hits old and new

Flo Morrissey and Matthew E. White | photo by Tiana Timmerberg for WXPN

What do Nico, Frankie Valli, and Frank Ocean all have in common? Their wonderful tunes take a different shape on Gentlewoman, Ruby Man, the wonderful new album from the pond-crossing pair Flo Morrissey and Matthew E. White. Lucky for us in the Free at Noon crowd, we got to experience the duo put their psychedelic twist on some classic tunes from the aforementioned trio and beyond.

Walking onstage as cool as a cucumber, Morrissey and White took their separate mic stands and kicked things off with a soulful rendition of Charlotte Gainsbourg’s “Heaven Can Wait”, jumping then into an out-of-the-blue indie rocking of Frankie Valli’s classic titular anthem from the hit musical Grease. And wow, Morrissey’s vocals on this track are so goddamn soothing.

After some wonderful performances, including some masterful key and guitar work on Nino Ferrer’s”Looking for You” and Frank Ocean’s “Thinking ‘Bout You”, respectively, White took some time to ask the age-old question; where in Philly do you get a cheesesteak? After a smattering of yelps from the crowd (I think I heard Jim’s the most), White realizes the riot he almost caused and calmed the crowd with a hypnotizing cut of the late Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne”.

After many thank yous from the two, Morrissey made Nico proud with a fun, “do-wop” filled cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Sunday Morning”, and ending on Roy Ayers’ smile-maker “Everybody Loves the Sunshine”. The record was perfectly represented during this performance, and I cannot recommend it enough because, honestly, I think we’ve found the first flawless cover record in a good long while.

Check out photos from the show in the gallery below.