Not all new music is really new, as many artists cover songs. Sometimes these are songs by their favorite artists, eg as a tribute to such a musical hero for a special reason, or they simply feel that a song deserves to be dusted and polished to reacquaint fans with great songs from the past. Other times, bands cover songs as a parody. Regardless of intent, some of those cover versions are so good or so much fun, we’d like to put a spotlight on them. Chosen from a wide range, here are – in random order – ten of our favorite covers from last month – links to the pages where you can add them to your wantlist included.
In February we saw tributes to David Bowie, Terry Hall, Bob Dylan and Tom Verlaine come by, and last week we wrote about releases from CTMF and Moron’s Morons with successful covers, but there was much more. As far as we’re concerned, these were the highlights.
1983 (A Merman I Should Turn To Be) || Cover: Tropical Fuck Storm || Original: The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Submersive Behaviour, the 5th full-length from Australian art-punk outfit TFS, is a 5 track cover album. Their version of Jimi Hendrix’ 1983 lasts almost 18 minutes, and is as alienating, bewitching and epic as can be. Out digitally and on vinyl LP through Joyful Noise Recordings.
She’s Not There || Cover: Melt Citizen || Original: The Zombies
El Paso, Texas’ Melt Citizen clearly doesn’t like Valentine’s Day, as their 4-track EP titled Only Make You Cry III (A 13 Minute Valentine’s Day Cover Song Odyssey) has the most unsavory artwork of the past month. However, that does not alter the fact that their lo-fi garage rock covers are coming in strongly.
Drain You || Cover: Jordi || Original: Nirvana
Jordi aka Jordan Radnoti is only 17, but that doesn’t stop her from making a lot of noise. She writes, plays and sings her own sharp songs, and by covering Nirvana, The Breeders and Pixies she also shows to have an excellent taste: “These songs are defining in my style and sound as an artist. I really look up to these bands and these songs are just one sliver of their great artistry.” From The Garage EP, out digitally via Dangerbird Records.
Ghosts Again || Cover: The Reds, Pinks & Purples || Original: Depeche Mode
Glenn Donaldson and his Reds, Pinks And Purples continue to release compelling folk-pop music, and a Depeche Mode song seems to fit seamlessly in between their original work. Their new album The Town That Cursed Your Name will be out on March 24th via Slumberland Records and Tough Love Records.
Karma Police || Cover: Riot For Romance || Original: Radiohead
American indie rockers Jason Hansen (vocals, guitar, keys), Brett Miotti (bass) and Kelly Nunn (drums) seem to form the ideal band to cover Radiohead, they definitely hit the right note here. Out digitally via Steadfast Records.
Tequila || Cover: Los Bitchos || Original: The Champs
London-bases 4-piece Los Bitchos return with the single Pah!, with a nice cover of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s Trapdoor on the A-side. More surprising, however, is the B-side, where Chuck Rio’s 1958 surf instrumental Tequila is enhanced with vocals and enthusiasm. Out digitally and on vinyl 7″ through City Slang.
La Mandanga || Cover: Los Perlas || Original: El Fary
Flamenco tune La Mandanga was an international hit in 1979, one that normally evokes a sense of nostalgia, but the punk rockers of Los Perlas bring it back to credibility, and put a big smile on your face with this irresistible version. Out digitally and on vinyl 7″ through Family Spree Recordings.
Cops And Robbers || Cover: Thee Headcoats || Original: Bo Diddley
Haven’t we been paying enough attention to Billy Childish’s work recently? Maybe, but we simply can’t get around this delightful Gene Genie-esque garage blues stomper from Thee Headcoats. Out digitally and on 7″ vinyl through Damaged Goods and Squoodge Records.
Paranoid || Cover: The Dip || Original: Black Sabbath
Seattle-based seven-piece ensemble The Dip found that covering Black Sabbath “without focusing on the badass guitar riffs” works well for a live audience, and now they’ve officially released a studio version as well. Frontman Tom Eddy explains that he recently realized that the lyrics and stories of the British heavy metal band were actually more emotional and nuanced than he was aware in the past: “I was inspired to do a version where the lyrics would be more prominent and would showcase that side a bit more.” Pretty good idea.
Louie Louie || Cover: Los Yesterdays || Original: Richard Berry
Did we really need another Louie Louie cover? Press play below and you can only answer that question with a resounding yes. If you leave it to the soul kings of Los Yesterdays, you get an low and slow soul grinder that is nothing like the hit version by The Kingsmen. Unrecognizable. It’s the flipside of new single Who Made You You?, out digitally and on 7″ vinyl through Penrose Records.
Harvest Moon || Cover: Melt || Original: Neil Young
New York City-based band Melt headed to Echo Mountain, the church bringing out the best in them. Veronica Stewart-Frommer (vocals), Marlo Shankweiler (guitar), Eric Gabriel (piano), Nick Sare (sax), Lucas Saur (bass) were joined by Andres Valbuena (drums) and Evan Lane (trumpet), and together they built Neil Young’s masterpiece Harvest Moon to a soulfully drawn-out version with a very different feel, but quite epic.
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Check out our Dusted playlist on Spotify for more cool cover songs.