Although currently comprised of primary songwriter and founding member Jonathan Meiburg, Danny Reisch, Lucas Oswald, Abram Shook, Jesca Hoop and Josh Halpern, the Austin, TX-based septet Shearwater can trace its origins to when Meiburg and […]
Category: covers
Comprised of brothers Andrew (guitar) and Steven McKeller (bass, lead vocals and keys), Richard Wouters (drums and percussion) and Kevin Dailey (keyboards and backing vocals), indie rock quartet Civil Twilight initially formed as a at trio in Cape Town, South Africa influenced by The Police, early U2, Muse, Jeff Buckley and Radiohead before recently relocating to Nashville, TN. And with the release of their critically applauded Story of an Immigrant, the newly constituted quartet have quickly developed a reputation for a soaring, anthemic and broodingly atmospheric songs that sound indebted to The Unforgettable Fire and Joshua Tree-era U2 — with a subtle bit of shoegaze thrown in.
Building on the buzz that Story of an Immigrant received, the Nashville-based quartet will be re-releasing the album through Wind Up Records on July 16; however, this time with all acoustic versions of the album’s material. And to celebrate both the re-issuing of Story of an Immigrant and the announcement of a headlining tour throughout the Midwest, the band released a bonus track from the re-issue, a hauntingly spectral, slow-burning cover of Billy Idol‘s “Dancing With Myself,” which manages to give a completely different reinterpretation of a familiar and overplayed 80s mega-hit, turning the song into a lonely, late night ballad that you’d slow dance to with a lover — or as the song says, by yourself.
As I mentioned earlier, the band will be on tour throughout July. Check out tour dates below:
TOUR DATES:
* with Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness
7/03 National Cherry Festival – Traverse City MI
7/05 Adado Riverfront Park – Lansing MI
7/07 The Intersection – Grand Rapids MI *
7/08 Blissfest Roots Music Festival – Petoskey MI
7/14 New Daisy Theatre – Memphis TN *
7/19 The Old Rock House – St Louis MO
7/20 Schubas Tavern – Chicago IL
7/21 Wooly’s – Des Moines IA *
7/22 The Blue Note – Columbia MO *
New Audio: Kino Kimino and Son of Stan Team Up for a 80s Synth Pop-leaning Cover of Sophie B. Hawkins’ 90s Mega-Hit, “Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover”
Comprised of Kim Talon, who’s perhaps best known for playing with Deerhoof, Jawbreaker’s Blake Schwarzenbach and Sia, and Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley, post-punk/indie rock trio Kino Kimino recently released their full-length debut album Bait Is For Sissies to critical praise from the likes of Pitchfork and FADER. Continuing on the buzz the trio have received off their full-length debut, they recently collaborated with former Ben Harper’s Relentless7 member Jordan Richardson, a.k.a. Son of Stan to cover Sophie B. Hawkins “Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover,”a song that was a major hit back in 1992 — and if you were alive and coherent back then, you’d probably remember that Z100 used to play the song at least 3 times an hour. Anyway, the key take away here is that the song is incredibly sexy and the Kino Kimino and Son of Stan cover manages to retain some of that sexiness while turning the song into a subtly propulsive synth pop song and in some strange way, it strikes as what the song would sound if Tears for Fears had covered it.
Throwback/Live Footage: Mayer Hawthorne Performs “Mr. Blue Sky” on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic
So strangely enough, while checking out the video, which would wind up comprising this site’s previous post, the related video tab on YouTube brought up live footage of Mayer Hawthorne and backing band playing a breezy cover of ELO’s “Mr. Blue Sky,” on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic several years ago and coincidentally, the track appears on Impressions. The internet is a wonderful place, is it not?
New Video: Check Out Neon Indian and Friends’ Funky and Breezy Cover of Prince’s “Pop Life”
As a child of the 80s there is a rather lengthy list of songs, artists and albums that have profoundly influenced and transformed my life — in particular David Bowie, Talking Heads, Madonna, DEVO, R.E.M, […]
New Video: Check Out Nicole Atkins’ and Postmodern Jukebox’s Jazz Age Cover of David Bowies Heroes
Fronted by its founding member, primary arranger and pianist Scott Bradlee, Postmodern Jukebox is a collective of rotating musicians and collaborators, who specialize in re-working and re-arranging modern popular music into genres popular in the […]
New Audio: Brian Eno’s Gorgeously Ambient Cover of The Velvet Underground
Wap More than enough ink has been spilled throughout Brian Eno’s nearly 50 year musical career, so delving deeply through his backstory will largely be unnecessary and beyond the scope of this particular post. But […]
Comprised of Chuck Cleaver (vocals, guitar), Lisa Walker (vocals, guitar), Mark Messerly (bass, keys), John Erhardt (pedal steel, guitar), and Joe Klug (drums), Cincinnati, OH-based shoegaze quintet Wussy can trace their origins to when the band’s founding members and primary songwriters Chuck Cleaver, formerly of Ass Ponys and Lisa Walker began to perform together on what was supposed to be a brief run of solo shows for Cleaver back in 2001. The first show Cleaver and Walker played together was largely unplanned and went without incident, so they agreed to continue and expand the band. The band’s first drummer Dawn Burman and Meserly were recruited and joined the band in 2002 and the quartet released three full-length efforts and an EP that received praise from a number of media outlets including Rolling Stone, SPIN, Village Voice, NPR, The Washington Post, Uncut and the legendary Robert Christgau, who placed the Cincinnati quintet’s first two efforts Funeral Dress and Left for Dead on his best of the decade list and their third, self-titled release on his best of 2009 list.
After quickly achieving critical success, the band went through a lineup change as Burman left and was replaced with Cincinnati music scene vet, Joe Klug with whom the recorded Attica! and their sixth and most recent effort, Forever Sounds, which was released last month through Shake It/Damnably Records. The quintet recently released subtly shoegazey cover of Joy Division/New Order‘s “Ceremony” which retains the spirit of the original while adding layers upon layers of reverb drenched guitars with the boy/girl harmonies of Cleaver and Walker throughout. Interestingly, Cleaver and Walker’s harmonies bring the swooning Romantic urgency of the song out into the forefront. But perhaps more important, it’s a reminder of how a timeless song can reverberate a generation or two after its initial release.
Check out how the Wussy cover compares to the Joy Division original below.
The Internet can be a wonderful and thrilling place as it can inspire the sort of serendipitous discovery that’s necessary if you’re an audiophile or a music blogger; however, the Internet can also be a powerful reminder of the relentless passing of time — and that no matter what, you’re not getting any younger. Now, as a child of the 80s, Nena‘s “99 Red Balloons” or if you preferred the original German version, “99 Luftballoons” was a mega-hit back in 1984 as it captured and evoked everyone’s fear of nuclear annihilation.
Back in 2013, I wrote quite a bit about Anika Henderson, best known under the mononym that she writes, records and performs under, Anika . Initially, Henderson spent her professional career as a political journalist, who split time between Berlin and Bristol, UK when she was introduced to Geoff Barrow, who’s best known for his work with Portishead. At the time Barrow was looking for a vocalist, who would work with his band Beak> for what would be a side project. And as the story goes, Henderson and Barrow bonded over a mutual love of punk, dub and 60s girl groups. About a week later, Barrow, Henderson and the members of Beak> went into the studio to record what would eventually turn out to be Henderson’s 2010 self-titled full-length debut, completely live with Henderson and the band in the same room without overdubs — and in 12 days.
2013 saw the release of Henderson’s self-titled EP, a collection of covers and remixes that included Henderson’s murky, Portishead and The Velvet Underground and Nico-inspired cover of Chromatics’ “In the City.” And what the self-titled EP revealed is that Henderson, Barrow and company have a way of covering a song with a unique take that makes a song their own — and in the case of Chromatics’ “In The City,” their cover feels as though it was always their song. That’s a rare thing, indeed.
Recently Invada Records, run by Barrow released an icy, lo-tech analog synth electro pop and dub-leaning cover of Nena’s “99 Red Balloons” by the mysterious Invada All Stars featuring Anika on vocals as part of this weekend’s Stop Trident National anti-nukes demonstration in London, a demonstration protesting the renewal of Britain’s nuclear weapons system. Proceeds from the digital single will go to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).
Additionally Henderson is part of a new project Exploded View which will release their debut single in March and play SXSW. The project’s debut effort is slated for release later this year through Sacred Bones Records.
With the release of “The Motions” featuring Chris Rivers, “The Road” produced by Sicknature of Snowgoons, Boston-based artist Rite Hook has received attention and praise as an emcee and as a vocalist. Building up on the buzz, he’s received Rite Hook has released a moody and spectral cover of Stone Temple Pilots‘ classic “Creep,” which has the Boston-based emcee and vocalist channeling Scott Weiland with an uncanny accuracy — as though he were possessed by the late vocalist’s spirit during the recording of the song.
Pairing The Arcitype’s production consisting of ominous atmospherics, layers of bluesy and buzzing guitars and propulsive drum programming with Rite Hook’s vocals, their rendition is a modern, Portishead-inspired cover that replaces the acoustic guitars of the original’s verses and electric guitars of the song’s chorus and hook while retaining the melancholy introspection of the original. Unfortunately, “Creep” will not appear on Rite Hook’s forthcoming full-length Modify — but from what I understand there are plans to official release it sometime this year.
New Video: Karriem Riggins and J. Rocc Play Tribute to the Legendary J. Dilla
Hip-hop producer J. Dilla would have turned 42 yesterday — and two Stones Throw Records artists Karriem Riggins (on drums) and J. Rocc (on turntables) recently paid tribute to the legendary and influential producer with […]
Led by its founding members and bandleaders singer/percussionist Irving “Honey” Banister, Big Chief of the Creole Wild West Tribe and drummer Joe Gelini, who have both been involved with New Orleans‘ Mardi Gras Indians for years, the members of the funk septet Cha Wa have developed a reputation for a sound and aesthetic that combines the Mardi Gras indian tradition and the area’s reputation for rhythm and blues and funk. And after playing countless shows in their beloved hometown, the septet’s long-awaited debut album Funk ‘n’ Feathers is slated for an April 1, and the album reportedly draws from the seminal Mardi Gras Indian-inspired work of the 1970s — Wild Magnolias (backed by The Meters), The Neville Brothers and Dr. John‘s Nite Tripper albums; however, the material also has a contemporary twist as the album was produced by Galactic‘s Ben Ellman, who has also worked with the likes of Trombone Shorty, and mixed by San Francisco, CA‘s go-to engineer Count, who has worked with DJ Shadow, Radiohead, Lyrics Born and others.
The album’s first single is a loose, stomping and swinging cover of Dr. John’s “All On A Mardi Gras Day” that feels as though you’re following a hot and jamming band with the marching Indians in their featured costumes marching down the streets of Uptown New Orleans — but with a slick, studio polish that doesn’t scrub away the inherently gritty, street-level funk and the ebullient, let the good time roll-feel within the song. If the song doesn’t make you want to stomp around and dance, then you have a cold, cold heart.
The band has a number of live dates coming up throughout the next few months. Check out tour dates below.
UPCOMING SHOWS:
02/08- Riverwalk – New Orleans, LA [Lundi Gras Celebration]
02/08- Tipitina’s Mardi Gras Stands – New Orleans, LA
02/09- 30×90 – New Orleans, LA
02/27- Universal Studios Orlando – Orlando, FL
03/05- Howlin’ Wolf – New Orleans, LA
03/31- Lafayette’s – Memphis, TN
04/01- Blue Nile [Album Release Show] – New Orleans, LA
04/07- French Quarter Fest – New Orleans, LA
04/10- d.b.a – New Orleans, LA
04/21- Ogden Museum of Southern Art – New Orleans, LA
04/23- New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival – New Orleans, LA
04/30- French Broad River Festival – Asheville, NC
06/04- Michael Arnone’s Crawfish Festival – Augusta, NJ
New Video: The Hip-Hop and Classical Music Sounds of The Bay Area’s Ensemble Mik Nawooj
Formed and fronted by classical trained Korean composer and pianist JooWan Kim, the Bay Area-based hip-hop collective Ensemble Mik Nawooj have received attention and praise from several media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, SF Weekly and East Bay […]
Initially formed in 1971 and comprised of Werner “Zappi” Deirmaier, Hans Joachim Irmler, Arnulf Meifert, Jean-Hervé Péron, Rudolf Sosna and Gunther Wüsthoff, German sextet Faust developed an internationally recognized reputation for a sound and aesthetic that proudly defied genre conventions and expectations — and perhaps most important as being pioneers of a sound that critics have since dubbed krautrock. Adding to their reputation of pioneering a new sound and eventually a new genre, the German band was one of the first acts to sign with Richard Branson‘s Virgin Records. And as the story goes, after Virgin Records rejected what was slated to be the band’s fifth full-length effort, the band broke up — with the individual members of the band largely disappearing from the public. Other than a handful of shows sometime in the 80s and the release of Patchwork, a compilation of outtakes, which featured three pieces the band recorded in the early 80s, the band’s whereabouts and what they were even up to were shrouded in mystery until the trio of Irmler, Diermaier and Péron began performing reunion shows in the early 1990s. But despite the questions regarding Faust’s whereabouts, the band’s recorded output maintained a level of interest and curiosity among krautrock fans and newer fans as Recommended Records reissued and re-released their four full-length efforts, as well as releasing unreleased material and a variety of compilations.
Interestingly, since their reunion in the early 1990s, the band has managed to be remarkably prolific, although they’ve managed to record and tour with a variety of different lineups and members with the most recent effort being 2010’s Faust Is Last.
“Jennifer,” off their fourth and aptly titled album Faust IV is a song that defies conventional songwriting and structure at every single turn. The song eschews the familiar format of verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, coda for a series of distinct movements held together with a propulsive rhythm section. And as you listen to the song, you’ll hear a band that tackles minimalist drone and noise rock, jazz fusion and creaky, old-timey vaudeville with an unexpected turn of a musical phrase to create something that’s mind-bendingly trippy and unexpected.
Although the Birmingham, AL-based trio Wray formed a little over two years ago, the individual members of the band, David Brown (bass and vocals), Blake Wimberly (drums) and David Swatzell (guitar) have been mainstays in their local music scene, performing in a number of musical projects including Last Flight In, Comrade, Waterfall and several others. However, Wray has been a sonic departure from Brown’s, Wimberly’s and Swatzell’s previous work as the trio have developed a national profile for a textured, atmospheric shoegazer rock sound; in fact, the band’s debut effort was released to critical praise from media outlets such as The New York Times and MOJO — and they made appearances on MTVu and Daytrotter.
The members of the Birmingham AL-based trio have spent the past year writing, revising and then recording the material that would eventually comprise their soon-to-be released and highly-anticipated sophomore effort, Hypatia, which the renowned and eclectic Birmingham, AL-based indie label Communicating Vessels Records will release on January 15, 2016. Co-produced by the band and Lynn Bridges, who has worked with Jack Oblivian, Devendra Banhart and Dan Sartain, the album reportedly has the band making what they believe is their most cohesive effort yet with the material fitting into a particular mood as the band explored subtle contrasts.
Hypatia‘s latest single coincidentally is a somewhat stripped down cover of Faust’s “Jennifer” that turns the expansive and structure defying song into a slow-burning, minimalist and shoegazey meditation on the Jennifer that the song’s narrator seems to adore; however, Wray’s cover managed to possess a wistful, melancholic feel, as though Jennifer has become part of the narrator’s past that they can never get back.
Check out how Wray’s cover stands up against Faust’s original below.