Arm’s Length is an alt/emo band from Ontario, Canada. They first began making music in 2018 as a trio (Allen Steinberg, and Jeff and Jeremy Whyte), and last year, they added their bassist Benjamin Greenblatt. In 2021, the group found wildfire success on the clip of their tune “Watercolour.” And now they’ve treated us to a cover of My Chemical Romance. It’s a take on “I Don’t Love You” that balances spot-on timbres and instrumentation, but has a bit of a different take on the vocals. Continue reading »
boygenius ft. Ye Vagabonds — The Parting Glass (Trad. cover)
Every year, Phoebe Bridgers releases a surprise cover around the holidays to benefit charity. This year, she brought in her boygenius bandmates as well as vocal group Ye Vagabonds to cover “The Parting Glass.” It’s a traditional Irish tune, but their version pays specific homage to Sinead O’Connor, who covered it in 2002. Sales benefit the Aisling Project, an after-school project working with children and young people growing up in a disadvantaged area of Dublin. The beneficiary was chosen by the estate of O’Connor, who died in July.Continue reading »
Sloppy Jane is an American pop-rock group fronted by Haley Dahl. Sloppy Jane formerly included Phoebe Bridgers, who was originally their bassist. Recently, Dahl took on the emotive song “Cancer” from My Chemical Romance’s 2006 album The Black Parade. But this isn’t your average emo cover; Sloppy Jane takes it one step further.Continue reading »
The heavy-metal band/talk show group Two Minutes to Late Night, covers The Smith’s”This Charming Man” in their latest video. It was pretty gutsy for them to take this tune by the ever-popular English rock band and make it go punk. And this wasn’t just a Two Minutes cover. My Chemical Romance member Frank Lero (guitar, backup vox) also took the stage, along with Nestor Chumak of Canadian rock band PUP, and comedian David Wain on drums.
The 1984 original is grooving, indie, and Beachy, whereas Morrissey’s vocals are emotive and melodic. While it’s difficult to derive much meaning upon first listen, the song is actually a story from the first-person perspective about a man who gets a flat tire on the hillside. Then, a man driving an expensive car drives by and offers him a ride. That all being said, the tune is much deeper than that: The original was intended to reach gay audiences, and showcase the softer side of masculinity.
This new version is driving, catchy, and angsty. Its yell-singing, standard punk beat, and distorted guitar are certainly a contrast to the original. That being said, the lead vocals harken back to that British indie-rock original ever so slightly.
You may listen to the gentle plucking when this begins and thing, boy that’s not what I expected from that band photo. Is this an acoustic flying V? Blacktop Mojo’s “My Girl” stays pretty and meditative for over half the run time, turning the oldies classic into a pretty folk-rock ballad. Eventually, though, true to that long-hair-and-leather image, the heads start banging and axes start shredding.Continue reading »
In their first live performances since 2019, Columbusites Twenty One Pilots had something special planned for their fans at Summerfest 2021. Nearing the end of their set, they performed My Chemical Romance’s 2005 hit “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” coming out of their own hit “Shy Away.”Continue reading »
