Arlo Parks — Yukon (Justin Bieber cover)
The talk of Coachella this year was Justin Bieber—specifically, his controversial headlining set that featured, in part, him singing along karaoke-style to videos of himself he pulled up on YouTube. Plus, Geese debuted their old “Baby” cover live (while Sabrina Carpenter watched sidestage no less). But maybe the best Bieber happening this month was this great lo-fi cover by Arlo Parks.
Jamey Johnson – Pretty When It’s New (Merle Haggard)
Merle Haggard’s birthday saw two new covers drop. One’s in the next section. This first one’s even better though. Country singer Jamey Johnson dug deep—and late—for this pick. The song comes off one of Haggard’s final albums, 2010’s I Am What I Am. This is the same album that included “Bad Actor,” which Bob Dylan covered in concert a couple years ago. The album’s seemingly on its way to be the country version of Blackstar or You Want It Darker, a late-in-life masterpiece for the true heads.
Kate Nash — Famine (Sinéad O’Connor)
“I would not be the artist I am today without Sinéad’s perspective, her bravery and sensitivity,” Nash said of recording this cover of O’Connor’s 1994 track that powerfully blended hip-hop and spoken word to denounce the lies of history. She adds, “I was inspired by the phrase: ‘The English can’t remember history, while the Irish can’t forget it.’” To top it all off, she plays the tin whistle on the track.
Noah Kahan — Rein Me In (Sam Fender / Olivia Dean cover)
At long last, stomp-clap songwriter superhero Noah Kahan has returned with his latest album, the follow-up to 2022’s Stick Season. It’s already debuted at number one on the charts. As part of his promotional cycle before he heads off on a tour of massive venues, he covered his fellow Best New Artist nominee Olivia Dean’s collaboration with UK rock fave Sam Fender.
Orcutt Shelley Miller (ft. David Yow) — Hot Head (Captain Beefheart cover)
Ethan Miller of avant-garde music supergroup Orcutt Shelley Miller wrote:
Beefheart is, as Bill [Orcutt] would say, definitely one of our big Venn diagram intersections for OSM. Bill had been throwing the “Hot Head” riff into the middle of one of our tunes that had a similar tempo on certain nights on tour. We just kept digging in further and further until it was a full song embedded within another song.
David Yow and Steve [Shelley] were old friends, and David just seemed like a perfect fit to bring it home and do Captain’s duties on vocals. David is one of the great through-lines helping to carry the spirit of Beefheart’s musical legacy into and beyond alternative music of the ’90s and 2000s. In my estimation, that explosive blending of sonic complexity and visceral, primitive expression is really at the heart of David and The Jesus Lizard’s power, as it is also at the heart of Orcutt Shelley Miller. Beefheart hand-carved the model for that musical dynamic in marble.
Return to Dust ft. Mat Mitchell — Hey Ya! (Outkast cover)
As this starts, you know something’s coming. Return to Dust is a heavy-ass band, and this cover features someone from the equally heavy Puscifer (Maynard James Keenan’s non-Tool project). It can’t stay this mellow for long. Sure enough, it doesn’t. You get through one chorus before things explode.
S.G. Goodman — Pepper (Butthole Surfers cover)
S.G. Goodman wrote:
Being I was a young child when I first heard “Pepper,” I am certain that I loved the excuse to request a band where I could say “Butthole” without consequence. To be honest, it still brings me joy. The adult me understands that the lasting appeal of the Butthole Surfers would melt into my own work, simply because of their distinctive approach to making music that felt right to them. The only covers that excite me are ones where the outcome is evident of the original’s influence on the artist as a whole. My cover of “Pepper” feels like me, and it feels like the same intrigue I experienced when hearing the original: to be left wondering what is actually going on here?
The Best of the Rest
The Black Crowes & Whiskey Myers — Star Star (The Rolling Stones cover)
Borderlines — Pulling Teeth (Green Day cover)
Cody Johnson — Footlights (Merle Haggard cover)
Dorian Electra — Mr. Tambourine Man (Bob Dylan cover)
Eileen Jewell — Deportee (Woody Guthrie cover)
Ethel Cain — Angels and Fuselage (Drive-By Truckers cover)
Fancy Hagood – Say You’ll Be There (Spice Girls cover)
Hayes Carll & Corb Lund — Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old) (Garth Brooks cover)
Jenny on Holiday — Androgynous (The Replacements cover)
London Plane — Smalltown Boy (Bronski Beat cover)
Los Dedos — Paint It Black (Rolling Stones cover)
Middle-Aged Queers — Anti-Hero (Taylor Swift cover)
Nation of Language — Tougher Than the Rest (Bruce Springsteen cover)
Oscar and the Wolf — Losing My Religion (R.E.M. cover)
Pascal Comelade — Come As You Are (Nirvana cover)
Waxahatchee & MJ Lenderman — Choosin’ Texas (Ella Langley cover)
Check out previous months’ best covers lists.
