Dave Thomas Junior is a singer-songwriter, pop musician, and composer best known for writing the 2015-2016 Muppets theme song. His music has also been featured in The CW’s The Vampire Diaries, and on EA Games and, most recently, he covered Bastille’s hit “Pompeii.”
Dave Thomas Junior’s cover of “Pompeii” is markedly different than the original. Thomas does away with all of the deep ‘eh eh oh eh-ohs’ and persistent synths, and trades them in for a surprising lofi introduction. Rather than imitating the peppy Brit-pop song, Thomas’s vocals give us a lullaby-esque version of the melody, and the soft layers of fingerpicked acoustic guitars contrast to Bastille’s original. He chooses to offset the rhythm of the lyrics ever so slightly, creating a laid-back feeling. The instrumentation and vocal harmony stacks in this cover remind me of Welsh singer-songwriter Novo Amour.
In the bridge, Thomas chooses to keep the quiet movement going by continuing the fingerpicked eighth-note pattern in the guitars, which barely crescendos into the verse and final chorus. It closes with the addition of subtle electric guitar slides which leave us hanging in the purple clouds. This expertly mixed cover shows off Thomas’s skill as both a producer and a performer.
Click here for more covers of Basille.
