Category: covers

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstay Kelly Finnigan Teams Up with Chicago Soul Legend Renaldo Domino on a Deep Soul Cover

Acclaimed singer/songwriter, musician, producer and Monophonics frontman Kelly Finnigan teamed up with Chicago‘s Renaldo Domino for a cover of Buffalo-based duo Samson & Delilah‘s 1967 song “Keep Me In Mind.” The Finnigan and Domino cover, which features an All-Star cast of some of the soul scene’s best players was recorded entirely to tape in studios between the Bay Area, Chicago and Ohio during the recording sessions for the JOVM mainstay’s most recent solo album, last year’s A Lover Was Born.

The Finnigan and Domino rendition sees the pair and their collaborators tightening the original’s groove just a bit while retaining the original’s spirit and feel in a remarkably loving and straightforward period specific manner. And much like the original, the song’s mid-tempo groove-driven arrangement serves as a lush and funky bed for the pair’s uncannily soulful harmonizing, which in some way rekindles memories of Sam and Dave, and the like.

The standalone single was released digitally through Colemine Records. The 7″ 45RPM vinyl will be available on May 23, 2025. You can pre-order the vinyl or stream on your favorite DSP here: https://colemine.lnk.to/clmn260

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers Perform “Wild Thing” at The Record Plant, 1982

Originally airing only once on MTV in February 1983, the Cameron Crowe directed Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party is a fun, candid and fast-paced film that captures Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers as they finish, promote and tour their groundbreaking Long After Dark album, their third and final album with the legendary Jimmy Iovine.

Nearly 40 years after the film had become folklore to fans, musicians and the music industry, the tapes from Cameron Crowe’s directorial debut were finally found. Interestingly, this also coincides with the Tom Petty Estate opening up the vaults and sharing previously unreleased music and some never-before-seen and rarely seen, remastered films from one of the band’s prolific and commercially successful eras — 1982 to 1983.

Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party was restored from its original 16mm source tapes and is exclusively streaming on Paramount + in the States, Canada, UK, Australia, Latin America, France, Italy and Germany, marking the first time that the now-fully restored version of Cameron Crowe’s directorial debut is widely available to international audiences.

The Tom Petty Estate has also released newly restored footage of Petty and company performing a rollicking and boozy, barroom blues-meets-Damn the Torpedoes-era Petty and Heartbreakers-like rendition of The Troggs‘ beloved and oft-covered 1966 rendition of “Wild Thing” filmed at Los Angeles-based studio The Record Plant in 1982.

Directed by Justin Kreutzmann, the video, which now boasts newly remastered audio, features footage of the band’s performance at The Record Plant, filmed for French TV program, Houba Houba, alongside never-before-seen footage originally filmed by Cameron Crowe for Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party.

Along with long-awaited release of Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party, Geffen/Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) just released the digital only Heartbreakers Beach Party: The Soundtrack, which includes 35 songs from the film with tracks from Long After Dark (Deluxe Edition).

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 75th Birthday, George Thorogood!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates George Thorogood’s 75th birthday.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Pythies Tackle a 2000s Banger

Paris-based punks Pythies — founding member Lise L. (vocals) with Thérèse La Garce (guitar) and Anna B. Void (drums) — was formed by Lise L. in late 2022 with the intent of starting an all-woman band. In early 2023, Lise L. met Thérèse La Garce and Anna B. Void through social media. The trio felt a very strong simpatico, rooted in the meshing of three distinct and strong personalities, and from that point on, the band’s lineup was cemented.

The French trio released their debut EP Disillusion last year. The EP featured two singles that I wrote about on this site:

  • “Toy,” a track that seemed indebted to riot grrl-era punk and grunge, featuring fuzzy power chords, thunderous drumming and enormous hooks and choruses placed within the classic grunge song structure. 

  • “I Pythie You” is a grunge and riot grrl-inspired ripper that reminds me a bit of early PJ Harvey, The Breeders and Hole anchored around Lise L.’s feral delivery.

The French JOVM mainstays recently tackled Peaches‘ signature single, 2000’s “Fuck The Pain Away,” turning the dance floor banger into a grungy, 90s era riot grrl ripper while retaining the feral sexuality of the original. In some way, their take possesses a sense of danger that’s both unhinged and thrilling.  

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: clubdrugs Tackles Portishead’s “Sour Times”

Chicago-based, self-described goth pop duo clubdrugs have developed a reputation both locally and regionally for a genre-defying sound and for captivating live performances.

Last year, I wrote about “Waiting,” a slickly produced, hook-driven, club friendly bop featuring glistening synth arpeggios, tweeter and woofer rattling thump and a sinuous and propulsive bass line that serves as a lush bed for Maria’s yearning vocal to ethereally float over. It’s the sort of song that’s perfect for the lovelorn and heartbroken to dance while crying their hearts out on the dance floor.

To celebrate Valentine’s Day and the season of love, the Chicago-based outfit shared a cover of Portishead‘s “Sour Times” that turns the slow-burning, brooding torch ballad into a tense, club friendly industrial banger.

“As kids, we passed out Valentine’s to our friends to show we care. We miss that,” Maria shares. “This year, our Valentine is this sexy melancholic love song. We hope it resonates with everyone, no matter how they’re feeling this Valentine’s Day.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstays The Harrow Tackle For Against’s “December”

Deriving their name from the harrow, the name of a device used to punish and torture prisoners in the Franz Kafka short story “In the Penal Colony,” Brooklyn-based JOVM mainstays The Harrow — currently founder Frank Deserto (bass), LeeAnn Falciani (vocals), Greg Fasolino (guitar) and John Forester (drum programming, guitar, mixing) — can trace their origins back to 2008 when its founder started the band as a solo recording project. The band became a full-fledged band in 2013 when Deserto recruited Vanessa Irena (vocals, synths, programming), Barrett Hiatt (synths, programming) and Fasolino to complete the band’s first lineup.

With their first lineup, the Brooklyn-based JOVM mainstays released the “Mouth to Mouth”/”Ringing the Changes” 7 inch and their full-length debut Silhouettes to critical applause from The Deli Magazine, The Big Takeover, Impose, AltSounds as well as this site for a sound that is deeply indebted to The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, and others.

Following up on the November release of their latest EP, Cinderglow, the members of The Harrow have released a lovingly faithful cover of Lincoln, NE-based jangle pop/dream pop band For Against’s “December,” the title track of 1988’s December. Much like the original, The Harrow’s take on the song manages to be simultaneously wistful and brooding, and full of the recognition of life’s unending cycles, of time’s endless march forward and the compiling of regret and shame.

“For Against have always been a very special band for us here at The Harrow,” the band explains. “Their blend of jangle pop, post-punk, and dream pop set them apart from many of their American contemporaries, and their discography is in a word: perfect. We first heard the news of vocalist and bassist Jeff Runnings’ stage 4 cancer diagnosis in November, and we as a band wanted to show our deep appreciation and love for Jeff and For Against with this very special cover. Jeff has always been extremely supportive of our band and is a truly kind soul, and we are honored to call him a friend. 

We will be donating all Bandcamp proceeds for this single to Jeff’s GoFundMe, which can be found here: 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jeff-runnings-battle-stage-4-cancer

The Bandcamp link for the song can be found here: https://theharrownyc.bandcamp.com/track/december

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: DMX Performs “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer”

A JOVM annual tradition: DMX performing “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 58th Birthday, Sinead O’Connor!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 58th anniversary of Sinead O’Connor’s birth.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Allegories Tackle Talk Talk’s Smash-Hit “It’s My Life”

Canadian experimental pop outfit Allegories — childhood friends Adam Bentley and Jordan Mitchell — can trace their project’s origins to their members’ penchant for indulging in unconventional musical pursuits. After founding anthemic, indie rock outfit The Rest, Bentley and Mitchell embraced any opportunity to indulge their more outeé inclinations and desires. 

Back in 2014, Bentley and Mitchell began writing and recording material with no clear destination in mind, dabbling in everything from neoclassical compositions to hip hop. Gathering further inspiration from DJ’ing house and hip-hop nights, the act began to create electronic music that often shifts between the mainstream and underground spectrum. 

Throughout the past decade or so, the duo have had very busy schedules: Bentley currently works behind the scenes in the music industry. Mitchell operates a restaurant. But Allegories almost always found a way to creep back into their lives — even if only as a private amusement between the pair. 

The duo spent the better part of a decade winnowing down 35 song ideas into their nine-song album. 2022’s Endless, their first full-length album in over 14 years. “There’s a moment during the marking of an album, where you don’t know if you’ll finish it,” Bentley and Mitchell say. “Endless was riddled with these cynical epiphanies. It’s unavoidable when you’ve spent over half a decade tinkering away. But as we closed in on the finish line, there was a sense that this could be the last work you ever complete. That spurs the process on, giving urgency. If you spend 14 years between albums, you want to make every note count.”

Since then, the Canadian duo have released a handful of standalone singles, including their first ever cover, Talk Talk’s 1984 smash-hit “It’s My Life,” which was also famously covered by No Doubt back in 2003. As the story goes, the duo’s Adam Bentley has long been skeptical of the song, associating it with the No Doubt cover that he was forced to listen to “almost every day for five years” while working at a hardware store. However, Bentley’s bandmate Jordan Mitchell managed to get the British band’s biggest transatlantic hit stuck in Bentley’s head, which sometimes occurs for months at a time. And with his prodding, Mitchell got Bentley began to see it in a new light.

“The urgency in Mark Hollis’ vocals struck me. And by covering the song, I felt like I was taking back to a place of admiration and passion, and away from Gwen Stefani. Keep Talk Talk away from Gwen at all costs,” Bentley insists.

While the Allegories’ take on the song is for the most part fairly faithful to the original’s climbing bass melody and steady beat, paired with Bentley’s urgent, impassioned delivery. But unlike the original, the Canadian duo add some swirling shoegazer-like synth textures, which gives the Allegories cover a subtly otherworldly quality.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: DVTR Tackles a Québecois New Wave Classic

With the release of their debut EP, BONJOUR, the French Canadian JOVM mainstays DVTR —  Le Couleur‘s Laurence G-Do and Gazoline‘s,  Kandle‘s Xavier Caféine‘s and Gab Bouchard‘s JC Tellier — burnt up the Canadian indie scene: The EP amassed a plethora of rapturous reviews, landed on a number of Best of 2023 Lists and earned the duo a handful of awards in Québec. 

Earlier this month, the duo released an expanded edition of their debut EP, BONJOUR (BIS), which featured “Les Olympiques,” a punchily breakneck ripper an anchored in scathing sociopolitical commentary — but while seeming to draw from The Hives, The Strokes and The White Stripes among others. 

The expanded EP features a cover of Dolbie Stéréo’s 1982 Quebecois New Wave classic “Pied de poule,” which also appears in the musical of the same name. Anchored around a chugging synth-driven groove and punchily delivered shouts, Dolbie Stereo’s original is an in-your-face anthem. DVTR’s cover subtly modernizes the Quéecois New Wave classic while retaining the original’s in-your-face punchiness and irresistible groove.

The accompanying video features footage shot at a sweaty and bonkers DVTR show.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 66th Birthday, Joan Jett!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Joan Jett’s 66th birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay Elisapie Tackles Sheryl Crow’s Smash-Hit “If It Makes You Happy”

Acclaimed Montréal-based singer/songwriter, musician, actor and activist Elisapie was born and raised in Salluit, a small village in Nunavik, Québec’s northernmost region. In this extremely remote community, accessible only by plane, she was raised by an extended, yet slightly dysfunctional adoptive family. Growing up in Salluit, she lived through the loss of cousins who ended their lives, experienced young love, danced the night away at the village’s community center and witnessed first hand, the effects of colonialism — i.e., poverty, hopelessness, alcoholism, suicide, and more. 

Much like countless bright and ambitious young people across the world, the Salluit-born artist moved to the big city — in this case, Montréal to study and, ultimately, pursue a career in music. Since then, her work whether within the confines of a band or as a solo artist constantly displays her unconditional attachment to her native territory, its people, and to her language, Inuktitut. Spoken for millennia, Inuktitut embodies the harshness of its environment and the wild yet breathtaking beauty of the Inuit territory. Thematically, her work frequently pairs Inuit themes and concerns with modern rock music, mixing tradition with modernity in a deft, seamless fashion. 

She won her first Juno Award as a member of Taima, and since stepping out into the spotlight as a solo artist, her work has received rapturous critical acclaim: 2018’s The Ballad of the Runaway Girl was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, and earned her a number of Association du disque, de l’industrie du spectacle Québeécois (ADISQ) Felix Awards and a Juno Award nod. She followed up with a performance with the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal — at the invitation of Grammy Award-winning maestro Yannick Nézet Séguin — at Central Park SummerStage, a NPR Tiny Desk Session and headlining or festival sets both locally and internationally. 

In her native Canada, she is also known as an actor, starring in the TV series Motel Paradis and C.S. Roy’s experimental indie film VFC, which was released last year. She has also graced the cover of a number of magazines including Châtelaine, Elle Québec and a long list of others. And as a devoted activist, she created and produced the first nation-wide broadcast TV show to celebrate National Indigenous People’s Day. 

Her fourth solo album, last year’s Inuktitut features inventive re-imaginings of songs by Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Blondie, Fleetwood Mac, Metallica and more. Each of the acts and artists covered have warmly given their blessing to receive the acclaimed Canadian artist’s unique treatment. Fittingly, each song is imbued with depth and purpose, as the album’s material is an act of cultural re-appropriation that reinvigorates the poetry of these beloved songs by placing them within Inuit traditions. 

Through the album’s 10 songs, the acclaimed Inuk tells her story and offers these songs as a loving gift to her community, making her language and culture resonate well beyond the borders of the Inuit territory. But the album is also a testament to the power and remarkable universality of pop music, a reminder of the universality of human life, and fittingly an ode to the experiences, memories, places and people, who have shaped us.

Almost a year since the release of Inuktitut, the JOVM mainstay returns with “Quviasukkuvit (If It Makes You Happy),” her take on the Sheryl Crow smash-hit that also took over the Nunavik radio airwaves when the Inuk artist was still a teen. Produced by close collaborator, singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joe Grass and translated into Inuktitut, Elisapie’s turns the twangy power ballad into a meditative and dreamily atmospheric tune anchored around some shoegazer-like textures and broodingly cinematic arrangements. The Inuk artist’s smoky and achingly tender delivery ethereally floats over the arrangement, expressing a nostalgic yearning for a time, a place and people that you can’t get back.

Much like the songs on Inuktitut, “Quviasukkuvit (If It Makes You Happy)” is inspired by one of Elisapie’s childhood memories: 

“An image that always comes to mind, no matter where I travel or live, is of the people dancing at the magical and dramatic Ikkarivvik Bar in Kuujjuaq,” the acclaimed Inuk artist says. “In my mind’s eye, it is always Friday night, and the moon is full. Most people are either a little drunk or very drunk. The bar and the dancefloor are an escape, and people dance to forget and escape. I recognize so many faces and I can see their smiles and closed eyes as they dance.

‘If It Makes You Happy’ was so popular in the North, and it reminds me so much of when I was a teenager. It played on TV and radio, and we listened to it at home. Those lines made us want to scream along with Sheryl. Her song liberates my people in the North, giving them the words to shout about being sad without feeling ashamed.”

When I perform this song, it has Sheryl Crow’s enthusiasm, but my Inuit sensibility slows it down, echoing the rhythm of the land.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Two New Tracks from Aussie JOVM Mainstays RVG

Acclaimed and rising Aussie outfit and JOVM mainstays  RVG — currently Romy Vager (vocals, guitar), Gregor’s and Hearing’s Reuben Bloxham (guitar), Rayon Moon‘s Marc Nolte (drums), and Isabelle Wallace (bass) — have released three critically applauded albums:

  • 2017’s A Quality of Mercy, which was recorded live off the floor at Melbourne’s iconic rock ‘n’ roll pub, The Tote Hotel. Initially released to little fanfare, the album, much to their surprise received critical acclaim both nationally and internationally, landing on a number of end-of-year Best of Lists. 

  • 2020’s Victor Van Vugt-produced Feral was released by Fire Records globally, excluding Australia and New Zealand, where it was released by Our Golden Friend. The album received breathless praise nationally and internationally, with Rolling Stone Australia calling the album “the record of a lifetime.”

  • Last year’s  Brain Worms, which won the Soundmerch Australian Music Prize and the AIR Awards Independent Album of the Year.

Since the release of Brain Worms the band has been busy: they’ve made the rounds of the global festival circuit with stops at SXSW, The Great Escape, Golden Plains, Rising Festival, Dark Mofo and Splendour in the Grass. The album received applause from Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Uncut, NME, Clash Magazine, MOJO and The Fader. The album also airplay from KEXP, Apple Music 1 and countless other outlets across the globe.

Just before the Aussie JOVM mainstays are about to embark on a headlining UK and European Union tour, they shared a double A-side single “Don’t Take It Badly”/”Pet Sematary.” Recorded at Soundpark Studios with Andrew “Idge” Hehir and mixed by James Trevascus, “Don’t Take It Badly,” is a slow-burning bit of jangle pop anchored around the band’s uncanny knack for rousingly anthemic hooks paired with Vager’s heartbreakingly earnest delivery and lived-in lyrics. “Don’t Take It Badly is a song about how change isn’t always a romantic thing and can sometimes feel pretty ugly. It’s a winter song that I wrote in the summer,” Romy Vager explains.

The other A-side single is a jangling and breakneck, yet fairly straightforward cover of the Ramones’ “Pet Sematary.” “We all love the Ramones” Romy states “And started playing this in rehearsal and it instantly clicked. The lyrics are such an underrated part of Ramones’ songs, there’s a lot of imagery in this song that I love dearly.”