Purling Hiss and Kurt Vile | still from video
Watch Kurt Vile join Purling Hiss onstage at PhillaMOCA for “Walkin’ With Jesus”
On Tuesday of this week, Philly’s own Purling Hiss released their latest EP, titled Interstellar Blue. Last night, they played PhilaMOCA to celebrate its release. During their set, the band surprised the crowd by inviting Kurt Vile up on stage with them to perform a cover of Spacemen 3’s “Walkin’ With Jesus”. Purling Hiss released a studio version of their cover back in 2018 as a b-side to “Out Tonight” and have been performing it with Vile since at least 2016.
Purling Hiss, led by Philly multi-instrumentalist Mike Polizze, is known for their distortion-heavy blend of pop-punk, alt rock, and psychedelia. Interstellar Blue follows their 2016 album, High Bias, and 2017 EP, My Dreams. Like all their music, it is built on haziness, grunge-like vocals, and 70’s-inspired songwriting. Their performance with Vile highlights the band’s mastery of their sound, as well as their ability to make a cover sound original.
Neither Purling Hiss nor Kurt Ville have any Philly shows coming up, but keep your eyes peeled.
Check out Purling Hiss and Kurt Vile’s performance of “Walkin’ With Jesus” and listen to Interstellar Blue below.