Doom and Gloom

Many music critics have observed that ABBA's happy songs sounded sad, while their sad songs sounded happy - allowing them to appeal to listeners in a broad range of emotional states. In light of the killing of MP Jo Cox and the Brexit vote, Bristol's 'Gothic trip hop' band Portishead have released a monochromatic music video with a decidedly dark, slow and brooding reinterpretation of ABBA's "SOS". The slower pace of the song meant that a few repetitions of the chorus and pre-chorus had to be removed, but otherwise all the lyrics remain intact:

'Where are those happy days, they seem so hard to findI tried to reach for you, but you have closed your mindWhatever happened to our love?I wish I understoodIt used to be so nice, it used to be so goodSo when you're near me, darling can't you hear meS. O. SThe love you gave me, nothing else can save meS. O. SWhen you're goneHow can I even try to go on?When you're goneThough I try how can I carry on?'

Lyrics: Genius

Lead singer Beth Gibbons' vocals are laced with withdrawn anguish and despair throughout the cover, but the video ends with a message of hope - quoting Cox's maiden speech in parliament ("We have far more in common than which divides us") and foregrounding the #MoreInCommon hashtag.