Jun 062023
 
juliana hatfield elo

Multi-instrumentalist Juliana Hatfield’s eclectic indie career frequently, pleasingly, takes in cover versions. Adept changes of tone feature in her full-album tributes to The Police and Olivia Newton-John, which received good reviews here. Her ongoing efforts capture the musical influences, on her music and moods, of her formative years. In the latest installment, Hatfield showcases the Electric Light Orchestra’s (ELO‘s) canon in her new project, a self-described “labour of love.” A new single release is the first fruit of that work, “Don’t Bring Me Down.” Continue reading »

Jun 062023
 
aldous harding john parish three hours cover

“Three Hours” is an album cut from Nick Drake’s debut album Five Leaves Left. It’s one of the tracks on that record that most shows off Drake’s deft finger-picking. It is not only the longest track on the album but the longest track in his entire, brief oeuvre. It’s a little bit different than your standard Nick Drake track.

PJ Harvey-collaborator John Parish and New Zealand singer-songwriter Aldous Harding have teamed up to record a version of “Three Hours” for the new Nick Drake tribute Endless Coloured Ways. And their muse appears to be Wilco or Krautrock bands such as Neu! as much as it is Drake himself. Continue reading »

Jun 052023
 
Hildegard Von Blingin Hurt

Hildegard Von Blingin’ is a Canadian artist and musical mastermind who writes “Bardcore for the discerning clergyman, noble, or muck-gathering peasant.” The artist’s name references on one of the oldest and most well-known female composers: Hildegard Von Bingen. In this cover, Von Blingin has decided to tackle one of Nine Inch Nail’s most popular tunes. The lyrical twist the author offers us in this version is tastily medieval, coming in with the line “I fell upon my sword today” rather than “I hurt myself today”. Continue reading »

Jun 052023
 
king hannah like a prayer cover

We last encountered gothy alternative Liverpudlian duo King Hannah on their jammy cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “State Trooper,” which we named the 41st Best Cover of 2021. Well, they’re back with another curveball cover of an even more iconic song. Scratch that. They’re back with two versions of a cover of an even more iconic song. Because why record one version of your cover of Madonna‘s”Like a Prayer” when you can record two? Continue reading »

Jun 012023
 
elly kace wild horses cover

In The “King of Tears” episode of his podcast Revisionist History, Malcolm Gladwell argues that country music is better at genuine emotions than rock and roll. To prove this point, he goes after The Rolling Stones’ classic “Wild Horses,” comparing it to “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” As one of my favourite Stones’ ballads, this episode irked me to no end. Gladwell argues that specificity in lyrics is better to convey emotion, and that country music is better at specific storytelling than rock and roll. He argues that “Wild Horses” is just too vague. I don’t disagree with Gladwell about lyrical specificity being more effective more often than not, but I sure think he picked the wrong Rolling Stones song to try to prove his point. (For one thing, this is one of the Stones’ most famous attempts at country. So it’s sure weird to say rock doesn’t do specificity as well as country, but then to pick a country-ish song from a rock band.) Continue reading »

Jun 012023
 
nothing but thieves flowers

Nothing But Thieves are a 5-piece rock band that has recently covered “Flowers” live for Like a Version, the series of covers that are featured on the Australian radio station called Triple J. The tune “Flowers” had loads of covers before the chart-topper had even been around for a month. We’re now at three months in, and this song has a lot of versions to sift through. But this one is more unique than some of the other dime-a-dozen covers that have been floating around the internet. 

To me, the bass line in “Flowers” always sounded straight out of the ’80s. But Nothing by Thieves added in lush synths and bright drums in their edition, and it really sealed the deal in making it sounds like it was from four decades ago. Conor Mason’s (intentionally) lackadaisical vocal diction in this one is purely charming, and the addition of the vocoder was a pleasant surprise. 

Nothing But Thieves kept the basic outline of Cyrus’s hit while adding layers and layers of new textural material. Check it out below.

For more great Miley Cyrus covers, be sure to check out: https://www.covermesongs.com/?s=miley+cyrus&searchsubmit=