May 312011
 

Download This scours the web’s dark corners for cool cover freebies. View past installments.

Originally a solo project of frontman Chris Chu, The Morning Benders quickly evolved into a full-fledged quartet. They relocated from Berkeley to Brooklyn a couple of years ago and, with the assistance of Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor, recorded their critically acclaimed second album, Big Echo. Even the notoriously fickle folks over at Pitchfork loved the bright, atmospheric pop of the album, adding it to their “Best New Music” list.

Never ones to hide their influences, the band recorded a collection of covers shortly before their departure from the West Coast and posted it as a free download on their blog. The Bedroom Covers features, suitably, a collection of lo-fi, low-key acoustic versions of a cross-section of pop tunes. The song selection won’t surprise you, but there’s something refreshing about seeing a young band that has an appreciation for musical history. Continue reading »

May 312011
 

Something about Chris Isaak suits late night. His atmospheric take on ’50s rockabilly fused with ’60s surf and a whole lotta reverb possesses a foreboding that you just can’t quite put your finger on, but gives you a sense that something lurks in the shadows. No wonder, then, that he shows up often in the soundtracks to David Lynch movies (he even starred in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me). Lynch, after all, has mastered the creepy late night vibe. Continue reading »

May 312011
 

Sharon Van Etten knows how to harvest the power of a cover. When we posted her version of the Smiths’ “Last Night I Dreamt Someone Loved Me” back in October, we barely knew her name. Since then she’s reappeared, here and elsewhere, with covers of Glass Ghost and E.C. Ball. Her songwriting has gotten several spotlights, too, with covers by Yellow Ostrich and Sweet Lights. Continue reading »

May 312011
 

Massachusetts native Matt Nathanson is known for being, dare we say it, an Indie Rock Romeo. The man has a way of pulling at the heartstrings, from his 2009 hit “Come on Get Higher” to his new Daytrotter cover of California faves The Mountain Goats’ “Love Love Love.” Nathanson can seamlessly take the most insignificant glance that a woman gives him from across a room and craft an engaging and quite beautiful song about it. Continue reading »

May 312011
 

Trent Reznor’s collaboration with Atticus Ross for David Fincher’s The Social Network score landed him both an Oscar and a Golden Globe. For Fincher’s next project, the reboot of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo trilogy, the duo teamed up with Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs for a cover of Led Zeppelin‘s “Immigrant Song.” The result? A goosebump-inducing, adrenaline rush of a cover that makes the film’s December release seem all too far away. Continue reading »

May 312011
 

As a veteran of grunge (Screaming Trees), rock (Queens of the Stone Age) and roots music (his brilliant collaborations with Belle and Sebastian vet Isobel Campbell), Mark Lanegan has surely used up most of his nine lives. Notoriously fiery and unpredictable, he has flown in and out of rehab several times, and now at 46 seems to have settled down a bit. Continue reading »