Jan 042012
 

If there is anyone out there who is familiar with how to truly cover a song it is British Singer-songwriter Catherine A.D. You might remember our posts about her previous Gaga and Bon Iver covers. Whether she’s taking on a hit pop song or a tear-jerker, Catherine A.D. always manages to turn a song into an enchanting ballad. Her new interpretation of My Brightest Diamond‘s “I Have Never Loved Someone” will make almost anyone fall in love with her. Continue reading »

Sep 072011
 

It’s been some time since Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” was all over the airwaves; think back to when you couldn’t turn on the radio without hearing the song on at least three different stations. Despite this fact, British singer/songwriter Catherine A.D. chose to cover the track, and her rendition’s far from the electronic pop hit you’re used to hearing. Continue reading »

Jan 312011
 

Last we heard from HURTS, Kylie Minogue was covering their “Wonderful Life” by, surprisingly, stripping away many of the pop trappings. Catherine A.D. takes a similar approach on her version of “Better Than Love,” but layers on a wall of vocals instead of Minogue’s synthetic strings. The clubby pop beat becomes a grandiose choral explosion. Continue reading »

Jun 222010
 

Song of the Day posts one cool cover every morning. Catch up on past installments here.

Bon Iver seems impossible to cover. His recordings rely so heavily on those multi-tracked harmonies that you’d expect the songs to crumble without them. They don’t. Peter Gabriel proved that to the masses a few months ago with his version of “Flume” (Bon Iver responded with “Come Talk to Me”). Covers of the nine songs on his acclaimed debut For Emma, Forever Ago have bubbled up continuously since its 2007 release. I could practically do a Full Albums feature on it already. If I did, today’s cover would most certainly be on it.

Last week I was extolling the virtues of Bandcamp in helping me discover Jump Back Jake. Well chalk up another Bandcamp victory, because without the site I never would have heard Catherine A.D. Her version of Bon Iver’s “The Wolves (Act I and II)” is stunning, a delicate weep-inducer. She keeps some of those multi-tracked vocals, then strips it back to just piano. This band-and-forth tension keeps you riveted for the entirety. It’s off her In the Bleak Midwinter EP, which includes equally fantastic covers of Friendly Fires, Fleetwood Mac, and the Magnetic Fields.
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