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.
Da Doo Ron Ron || Cover: The Peawees || Original: The Crystals First the good news: Italian punk rock band The Peawees have finally released a studio version of their cover of this Phil Spector classic—always a highlight in their live shows—on 7″ vinyl, as the flip side to their self-penned song Drive(taken from this fall’s One Ride LP). The inevitable bad news: the single was a present for the 300 attendees of the Wild Honey Christmas Party, that reportedly never will be reprinted. A cold comfort: you can download it for free.
Heart and soul, that’s not too much to ask, right? To be honest, I didn’t have an easy year exploring new music. The flood of releases is too much to keep up with—the conscious realization that you continuously miss more than you experience is quite demotivating, while exploring the sonic cosmos should be exciting—and wading through all the copycats and AI disciples makes it increasingly difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Thankfully, just when I thought the journey had become more important than the destination, and the future was finally losing out to the past, it turned out that there were still plenty of raw pearls and creative authenticators to be discovered (I don’t necessarily value perfection or innovation). And so I regained the feeling that blogs like ours actually add some value to all those algorithms around by putting them on display. Regardless, in my forays into the depths of the musical universe, I checked out 2,800+ new albums, resulting in a passionate longlist of 140 wantlist-worthy releases—the ones I liked and played the most, just a matter of taste I guess , are in the Top 50 below. Slightly eclectic, but all as real as it gets.
Next week we will publish our lists of favorite albums, but first here is an overview of short format releases that were—in my humble opinion—the most wantlist worthy. It’s a mix of welcome comebacks and uncompromising discoveries, all energetic and passionate.
Below you can listen to the Top 50 singles and EPs that I enjoyed the most last year (note: individual songs are excluded), in alphabetical order. Links point to Discogs or Bandcamp (the titles), and to previously posted reviews (in the body text). Add to your wantlist (or collection) what you like!
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 November, Haruomi Hosono (by various artists), Margo Guryan (various artists), Green Day (Billy Cobb) and Joy Division (The Routes) were put in the spotlight, and numerous Christmas classics were given new packaging, but here we list some other choice cuts.
Empty Sky || Cover: The Fleshtones || Original: Elton John
Forty-five years after their first release, New York garage rock legends The Fleshtones dropped a new worthy long-player, titled It’s Getting Late (…and More Songs About Werewolves), out on Yep Roc. Besides strong self-penned songs like Way of the World and Wah Wah Power, there are good covers of The Hearse (written by Lee Hazlewood, first released by Al Casey) and Empty Sky (written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, first released by Roy Everett but a month later also by Elton John), all in the band’s signature sound.
Ten years into their career, Canadian rock ‘n’ roll two-piece Les Deuxluxes hit the road with four new songs, collected on the Pleasure Doin’ Business EP. Anna Frances Meyer (vocals, guitars, organ, flute, percussions) and Etienne Barry (vocals, guitars, bass, drums, keyboards) blend garage rock and rhythm & blues with a touch of glamour, a groove-packed treat. In closing track Always on the Run, the two musicians collaborate with their fellow citizens from Les Shirley (Raphaëlle Chouinard, Lisandre Bourdages and Sarah Dion), which works out very well, but without them – in the other tunes – the duo also manages to create a full band sound with surprising twists and turns.
Pleasure Doin’ Business is out digitally, on CD and vinyl 10″, through Noble Shit Records.
London mod revivalists The Studio 68! started out in the mid-80s and recorded their first album PortobelloHello in 1992, but things went wrong after that—a backstory worth reading. In 2014, the debut was finally released, and more work followed bit by bit. The band’s central members, Paul Moody (vocals, guitar), Thrill Heaven aka Will Beaven (Hammond organ, backing vocals), Patrick O’Sullivan (bass) were there from the start, and Simon Castell (drums) joined soon after, and they’re still going strong. Their latest 45 shows how welcome their sound still is in ’24. B-side Let’s Get Wasted is great fun, but it’s A-side The Way It Is that inspires the most awe here, not least because of Dani Turner’s awesome lead vocals and Sean Poe’s saxophone.
The Way It Is b/w Let’s Get Wasted, produced by Brian O’Shaughnessy, is out on vinyl 7″ through Detour Records.
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.
Over the course of each month, we complete a list of new covers that are good enough for this feature—in October, there were over eighty such gems. Elsewhere, the American Football (Covers) LP and the Dead Formats Vol. 3 compilation have gotten their share of attention, and we’ve already written about Ride The Wylde Mammoths (The Maharajas) and songs by Thine Retail Simps (Neil Young’s Barstool Blooze), The Surfrajettes (Spice Girls’ Spice Up Your Life) andDan Webb and the Spiders (The Nerves’ Many Roads). Still, there’s way too much to share here, but given the quality available, we really can’t go wrong with whatever choice we make.
Escape (The Piña Colada Song) || Cover: Colleen Green || Original: Rupert Holmes
Lowell, Massachusetts-based singer-songwriter/visual artist Colleen Green is the definition of cool, and everything she does exudes that quality. Even an admittedly entertaining but slightly cheesy 70s classic benefits from her halo effect. This is one of twenty-five(!) versions on The Official Piña Coladas Booger Movie Mixtape on Spotify, which celebrates the film Booger (Dark Sky Films).
2-4-6-8 Rock ‘N’ Roll || Cover: Hot Rollers || Original: M.O.T.O.
We have Chain Smoking Records to thank for taking the effort to honor American garage punk band Masters of the Obvious. On the compilation Ready! Aim! 1!2!3!4! – A Tribute To M.O.T.O. no less than forty-six(!) quite diverse acts cover songs written by band founder Paul Caporino. All-female Seattle garage rock band Hot Rollers build a party in their contribution.
Killing In The Name || Cover: Hellsongs || Original: Rage Against The Machine
Hamburg-based indie folk outfit Hellsongs started reworking some old metal favorites twenty years ago, and now they’re back with the Return of the Hellsingers LP (Tapete Records). They strip songs from bands like Motörhead, Refused, AC/DC, Green Day and Rage Against The Machine, with lyrics in common that fit well into a discourse of resistance against an era increasingly characterized by heartless nationalism, racism/fascism and egoism.
Can’t Speak || Cover: Sponge || Original: Danzig
In 1994, alternative rock band Sponge formed in Detroit, Michigan. They then scored a hit themselves with Plowed, but it was also the year of Blur’s Girls and Boys, Sonic Youth’s Bull In The Heather, Oasis’s Supersonic, Mazzy Star’s Fade Into You and Danzig’s Can’t Speak. They celebrate the 30th anniversary of “the year that alternative rock conquered modern music” with a covers album simply titled 1994 (Cleopatra Records), including the tracks mentioned.
I Tried || Cover: Miranda and the Beat || Original: Dead Moon
New York City’s Miranda and The Beat released their new full-length album Can’t Take It (Ernest Jenning Record Co./Khannibalism/Wild Honey Records) last week, which, according to the press release, “blends all the best flavors from pure punk anthems played at a chair- smashing intensity to grinding R&B to hypnotic edgy sci-fi alchemy and even some heart-smashing balladry to boot.” A successful album, with an intense cover of the Fred Cole-penned song I Tried, taken from Dead Moon’s must-have 1989 Unknown Passage LP.
Come As You Are || Cover: Layzi || Original: Nirvana
If you’ve been around young people lately, you’ve probably noticed that a surprising number of teenagers are wearing Nirvana shirts. At the same time, dreamy shoegaze is enjoying a revival. Boston-based dream pop act Layzi aka singer-songwriter Carissa Myre did the math and created a smokescreen for Come As You Are. Original tune Feel The Same serves as the flipside (Born Losers Records).
Here Comes My Girl || Cover: Weezer || Original: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
The official soundtrack album (WaterTower Music) for the Apple TV+ original series Bad Monkey – the crime-meets-comedy story of a detective turned restaurant inspector in Southern Florida, starring Vince Vaughn, Natalie Martinez and Jodie Turner-Smith – features covers of Tom Petty songs by big names including The War on Drugs, Kurt Vile, Nathaniel Rateliff, Jason Isbell, Sharon Van Etten, Eddie Vedder, and Weezer. A good idea that works out great.
Stop and Think It Over || Cover: The Lotts || Original: Compulsive Gamblers
We take every opportunity to shine a spotlight on Memphis, Tennessee-based singer/guitarist Greg Cartwright, one of our all-time favorite songwriters. With garage rock band Compulsive Gamblers he released the Crystal Gazing Luck Amazing LP in 2000, with Stop & Think It Over as an irresistible highlight. British rock ‘n’ rollers The Lotts do a good job of giving it new energy, on the B-side of their Zero Zero 7″ (Swelltune Records).
She’s Leaving Home || Cover: The Staves || Original: The Beatles
Last spring, London-based indie folk duo The Staves released their new album All Now (Nonesuch Records), which they followed up in late November with a four-track acoustic EP called Happy New Year, on which you’ll find this cover. As life-long Beatles fans, Jessica and Camilla Staveley say they’ve known and loved the song forever: “The simplicity of it felt very familiar to us and it inspired us to want to pick up the acoustic guitar and do our own version; to tell it’s story and to sing those melodies together, just our two voices.” It’s beautiful.
Ghostbusters || Mister Leu and the Nyabinghers || Ray Parker Jr.
The Specialized Project have posted the compilation Skank Up the 80’s: The Decade Reimagined on Bandcamp, a selection of sixty-seven(!) covers curated by Dan Vitale and Paul Ayriss. The title gives away how the biggest 80s pop hits – no, this one is not missing – sound here. Guilty pleasures all over, but Ghostbusters Ska by these French musicians delivers the most fun.
Also worth mentioning: Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) (Nancy Sinatra) by Abes Bones Bicycle (Refrigerator) by The Reds, Pinks & Purples Big Love (Fleetwood Mac) by Ian McNabb Champagne Supernova (Oasis) by Middle Kids Como Una Perra (Thee Headcoats) by Los Pólipos Cream Of Gold (Pavement) by DIIV crushcrushcrush (Paramore) by King Falcon Egyptian Reggae (Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers) by Pancho Acosta Don’t Come Back (The Kaisers) by The Kaiserinas featuring Alice Faye Every Day Is Halloween (Ministry) by Vista Blue Fazer (Quicksand) by Hot Water Music Feliz Navidad (José Feliciano) by Fantastic Cat Fire in the Western World (Dead Moon) by Superchunk Fortnight (Taylor Swift) by Court Reporter From The Bottle To The Bottom (Kris Kristofferson) by Goodnight, Texas Ghostbusters (Ray Parker Jr.) by Elliott BROOD Mr. Grieves (Pixies) by DEHD Groove Is In The Heart (Deee-Lite) by Super American Eagle Heart Attack (Jack & the Ripper Z) by Ichi-Bons Hybrid Moments (Misfits) by Jae Star I Put A Spell On You (Screamin’ Jay Hawkins) by Samantha Fish Is It A Star (Hall & Oates) by Fernando Perdomo I Want To Hold Your Hand (The Beatles) by Diners Most People I Know (Think That I’m Crazy) (Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs) by Me First And The Gimme Gimmes My Size (John Entwistle) by Ex Norwegian as The Silky Strings Pass the Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind (Yo La Tengo) by Quivers Rocky Raccoon (The Beatles) by Swamp Dogg Say Yes To Heaven (Lana Del Rey) by Fontaines D.C. Sensitive (The Field Mice) by The Melancholic Men Teenage Kicks (Undertones) by Viva Lone Justice Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper) by Garfunkel & Garfunkel We’ll Live And Die In These Towns (The Enemy) by The Subways What If I Like It (Alyse Alan Louis & Pretty Filthy Original Company) by Pacing While My Guitar Gently Weeps (The Beatles) by Lucinda Williams The Witch! (The Sonics) by The Strongest Tool
Check out our Dusted playlist on Spotify for more cool cover songs.
The Lowland Brothers are not from the Lowlands and are not brothers either, yet I believe every word they sing. The French five-piece – Nico Duportal (vocals, guitars), Hugo Deviers (percussion, guitar), Max Genouel (bass, keyboards), Julien Bouyssou (keyboards) and Gilles Delagrange (drums) – operate on the cutting edge of soul, rock, blues and Americana, and that sounds as appealing as you would hope. Three years after their self-titled debut LP, they hurl their sophomore album into the world. The ten polished songs on Over The Fence are characterized by groovy rhythms, sample-worthy melodies, yearning vocals and heavenly harmonies, wrapped in a warm and soulful sound. Soul takes centre stage here, but influences from other genres provide a ragged edge that will appeal to music fans across the board. RIYL The Black Keys, DeWolff, Night Beats.
Over The Fence is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP, through Underdog Records.
We got to know Portuguese five-piece Lola Lola last year through their exotic Baby Please Don’t Go cover, but their self-penned songs are also great. Just in time for Halloween, Carla Capela (vocals), Tiago Gil (guitar), Miguel Lourenço (bass), Rui Teixeira (saxophone) and Hélder Coelho (drums) are back with a danceable 45 – their seventh 7-inch record – with two songs specially made for the upcoming party. Both A-side Little Witch (a story of a young witch who evolves into a powerful sorceress) and B-side The Monster of the Wildsee Forest (about a cursed black forest inhabited by a terrible creature made of gold) may be meant to be spooky and sinister, but they are mainly entertaining and cheerful. Rhythm & blues meets garage rock, how well that works.
Little Witch, produced by Nuno Riviera, is out digitally and on 7″ vinyl through Chaputa! Records.
It took a while for The Guy Hamper Trio to release their debut full-length All The Poisons in the Mud in late 2022, but they’ve been unstoppable ever since. Dog Jaw Woman is the third album by Guy Hamper (better known as Billy Childish) on guitar, Julie Hamper on bass and Wolf Howard on drums, with James Taylor on Hammond organ. This time we get ten original instrumentals, including the four tracks—Dog Jaw Woman b/w The First Creature Is Jealousy and Instrument Of Evil b/w Incense Rising From A Censer—which were previously available on 7″ vinyl. The foundation is still soulful garage rock, but now with more jazzy elements, both in terms of expanding compositions and through the addition of trumpet and saxophone—always with captivating and atmospheric melodies. While it’s not as polished as is usual there, this sound would do great in a gritty chase movie.
Dog Jaw Woman, written & produced by Billy Childish, is out now on vinyl LP through Damaged Goods Records.
