Tag: covers

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the past couple of months, Philadelphia, PA-based indie rock quartet Oldermost, led by its frontman Bradford Bucknam have received attention across the blogosphere and this site in particular for a sound that draws from  Nick Drake, Wish You Were Here-era Pink Floyd and 70s AM radio rock as yo would have heard on the band’s first two singles “Honey With Tea” and “Finally Unsure.”

The band’s third and latest single is a cover of Graham Nash’s “I Used To Be A King.” And as Bucknum explains in press notes “Songs for Beginners is not necessarily a unique find in a record store bin, but the record still feels like a special discovery when you first set on eyes on the simple and somewhat lusterless album cover. ‘I Used To Be A King’ starts with a tempo just slow enough to hold the listener in a state of suspension. You think: there is a release on the horizon. And then Nash sings ‘It’s alright …’ and the song picks up, but only to build more tension and then there is the most rewarding part of the song at the tail end of the chorus—’No one is going to break my heart again’—where the listener experiences that sweet release. This track also seemed like a great opportunity to highlight the string arrangements that have helped make our musical output stand apart. There’s also a sweetness and a melancholy to the song and it takes a healthy dose of both to mix up an Oldermost song.” While being a fairly straightforward cover, it’s a shimmering, gorgeous cover that emphasizes the bittersweet nature of the original.

 

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Tall Heights’ Electro-Folk-Leaning Cover of St. Vincent’s “Year of the Tiger”

Boston-based indie folk duo Tall Heights recently released footage from their City Winery “One On One” Cellar Session, which featured a re-arranged cover of St. Vincent’s “Year of the Tiger” to accommodate cello, acoustic guitar and drum machine — and the end result is a somewhat straightforward yet twangy and rootsy cover that retains the song’s moody irony.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay Charlie Greene Returns with an Aching, Country-Leaning Cover of Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie

Several years have passed since we’ve heard from Charlie Greene but as Greene has told me via email, he’s been pretty busy of late as he’s putting the finishing touches on an album that is tentatively slated for release sometime over the winter, along with some tour dates; but in the meantime, the Atlanta-born and Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter has started a video series he’s titled “Dead Man’s Cattle Call,” in which he an this backing band pay tribute to a recently deceased musician of note with a one-take recording in a Topanga, CA-based grape arbor, then they release an accompanying video. And the latest installment is a slow-burning country music rendition of David Bowie’s “The Prettiest Star,” which pulls out the nostalgic wistfulness and ache at the core of the original.

The recently released music video was shot by the folks at Beard and Glasses VR and to get the full effect of the video, please check it out on Google Chrome or on your smartphone. It’s a trippy and immersive effect to be able to view everything the musicians did while performing the song.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Comprised of Brooklyn-born and based co-founding members Joe Salgo and Ross Procaccio and John Santiago, the Brooklyn-based indie rock/prog rock trio Of Clocks and Clouds have developed a reputation for standing far apart from most of their contemporaries as their sound is equally influenced by the likes of The Black Keys, Pink Floyd, Beck, Queens of the Stone Age, Rush and TV on the Radio — or in other words they adeptly mesh classic rock, prog rock and contemporary rock in a way that sounds both familiar and yet very different. Now, the band released their self-produced and self-released full-length effort Better Off earlier this year; however, the trio recently released a deceptively straightforward cover of TV on the Radio’s “Young Liars” that actually adds an incredibly subtle breeziness and a proggy psych rock feel to a gorgeous, slow-burning and brooding song.

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Devil Makes Three’s Reefer Madness-Like Visuals for Their Sun Records-Inspired Cover of Muddy Waters’ “Champagne and Reefer”

Redemption and Ruin‘s latest single is a slightly slowed-down, twangy, Johnny Cash, Sun Records-era-leaning cover of one of my favorite Muddy Waters tunes “Champagne and Reefer” that retains the original’s wicked sense of humor and gleeful debauchery. And interestingly enough, the recently released music video features a ton of old Reefer Madness-inspired movie footage of people smoking, getting high, partying hard, hooking up and generally just having a shit ton of fun; in fact, so much fun that I think I might want to join them.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Shearwater’s Incredible Cover of Bauhaus’ “Kick In The Eye”

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 […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

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.

Video by William Ruben Helms

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?

Video by William Ruben Helms

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, […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

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 […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

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.

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

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.

 

 

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Check Out Joe Driscoll and Sekou Kouyate’s Breezy and Funky Cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Master Blaster (Jammin’)”

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

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 […]