Cover Me: Kiss From A Rose

Watch Tame Impala perform the Seal classic Kiss From A Rose for Like A Version, a segment on Australian radio station triple-j. Pretty impressive call-and-response vocals on this one.

» tameimpala.com

Blake: Ready, Steady, Quo!

English singer-songwriter Blake picked two familiar songs and a deep cut for his Status Quo covers EP Ready, Steady, Quo!, the band that evolved from a psychedelic folkies act into a 12-bar boogie powerhouse. Most people will be familiar with Pictures of Matchstick Men, which was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic and the only song to get some traction in the early days of the Quo. Blake sticks close to the original version (same goes for the included live take).

Things get interesting with his choice for Gerdundula, a track from Dog of Two Head, the first album recorded by what would later be called the Frantic Four - the classic Rossi-Parfitt-Lancaster-Coghlan line-up. Blake obviously loves this song - he loves the whole album in fact - a transitional one that fell through the cracks, but it is a real gem in the band's discography. Finally he tries his hand at the live favourite In My Chair. Trying to play this in the same tempo as the original eluded him, so he chose wisely and went for a slighly slower one that works quite well.

Cover Me: Paint It Black

Watch all-female post-punk band,Mo-dettes lipsync their way through their of the Rolling Stones Paint It Black on the Granada Fun Factory TV show broadcasted on July 5th, 1980. In 1981 they were billed as the Bomberettes when they provided backed vocals for Fighter Pilot, a track on John Cale's Honi Soit album.

» Mo-dettes on Wikipedia

Jeffrey Halford & The Healers: Used Parts

Roots trio Jeffrey Halford & The Healers have been making the rounds on the club circuit for more than 30 years, treating their audience with bluesy swagger and heartfelt Americana. Main man Jeffrey Halford is never afraid to point out his flaws and making fun of them, like the cool uncle who will pick a guitar and tell a story that will make you laugh, cry or think (sometimes within the space of the same song). The new album Used Parts deals with ageing as well as promise to himself to make some changes - well, not giving up being a guitar man and setting stages on fire, because he can't and doesn't want to get away from that.

Matters of the mind and the heart are for scrambling for getting the upper hand, but in turns out that he does not have to commit, as long as he manages tor retain a careful balance. It all comes together in the superb soulful Chasing Forgiveness ("sunrise is no friend of mine, for promises it can't keep, it's way too late for warning signs"). Smart move to include the stand-alone single Mississippi Flyer, a Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings' cover, as well, as it fits the mood of the album perfectly. Jeffrey Halford & The Healers are road rats, who thrive on stage. They won't bring Halford's son and daughter with them, but their parts on the album are proof that they have inherited his genes and are putting them to good use.

Cover Me: Golden Brown

Watch Alex Kapranos and Julian Corrie of Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand tackled the Stranglers classic Golden Brown for an acoustic session on French radio OÜI FM, recorded on July 3, 2026.

» franzferdinand.com

Laurie Anderson: Tiny Desk Concert

Watch Laurie Anderson perform five songs, including a slowed down cover of Dirty Blvd. by her late husband Lou Reed, for a NPR Tiny Desk Concert. She played electronics and violin, with Martha Mooke (viola, electronics) and Doug Wieselman (guitar, clarinet).

Setlist:

1. Let X=X
2. The Letter
3. Dirty Blvd.
4. The Reason I Love the Stars (excerpt from "Another Day in America")
5. Dog Show"

» laurieanderson.com

Neko Case: "Cool Boys" for Record Store Day

American singer-songwriter Neko Case has a cool cover out for Record Store Day (April 18) on a light blue 7": her take of the Flat Out Jets song Cool Boys. The B-side is Winchester Mansion of Sound, a track from her latest album Neon Grey Midnight Green. 2500 copies worldwide.

» nekocase.com

Kronos Quartet: Tiny Desk Concert

Watch the current incarnation of the Kronos Quartet perform four songs for a NPR Tiny Desk Concert. David Harrington (violin), Gabriela Diaz (violin), Ayane Kozasa (viola) and Paul Wiancko (cello) let their instruments speak about the worldwide clusterfuck with these rearranged covers.

Setlist:

1. Neil Young (arr. Wiancko) - Ohio
2. Nicole Lizée - Another Living Soul
3. Abel Meeropol (arr. Garchik) - Strange Fruit
4. Peni Candra Rini (arr. Garchik) - Hujan (from Segara Gunung)

» kronosquartet.org

Cover Me: Caribbean Sunset

In 2013 Luxury Liners, American singer Carter Tanton's one-man band, covers John Cale's Caribbean Sunset on his They're Flowers album. A plan to release a full album filled with Cale covers fails to materialize.

» cartertanton.bandcamp.com
» Covering John Cale

Cover Me: Amsterdam

Watch Karla Manzur and Alejandro Escovedo performing John Cale's Amsterdam during a show at the Moody Theater on January 12, 2013, with Ephraim Owens and Elias Haslanger on horns and Brian Standefer, Susan Voelz and Bobby Daniel on strings. Alejandro Escovedo recorded a studio version for his Bourbonitis Blues album, released in 1999.

» alejandroescovedo.com
» Covering John Cale

Cover Me: Only Time Will Tell

In 2015 Eyelids, an American band featuring former and current members of Guided By Voices, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, The Decemberists, Camper Van Beethoven, and Boston Spaceships, covered John Cale's Only Time Will Tell on their self-titled EP.

» Eyelids on Facebook
» Covering John Cale

Cover Me: Andalucia

In 2020 American multi-instrumentalist and singer Andrew Bird covered John Cale's Andalucia on his Hark! album. Abigail Portner created the animated video.

» andrewbird.net
» Covering John Cale

Swansea Sound: All Is Calm

Welsh poppy punk quintet Swansea Sound decided to have a bit of fun and join the flurry of seasonal releases with a tongue-in-cheek Christmas mini-album. On All Is Calm they poke fun at first world problems (Not My Order, Click It And Pay (Walking In The Air)) and ask the imaginary bearded guy to safe from misery and ennui (Santa Bail Me Out).

Last year's single (I Wanna Wear A) Mirrored Hat Like Slade plus it accusing B-side Dreamland - nope, not everyone can spend a shit load of money on presents - are included, which will please all those who missed out on that one. It may seem a bit weird for an indie band to wrap up the proceedings with a cover of Cheap Trick's rather cheesy Merry Christmas Darlings, but it turned out pretty good, giving it an edge that was missing from the original.

Carley's Wreck and Ruin: In My Time of Dying

Carley's Wreck and Ruin, a side project from English old school vaudeville blues trio Jo Carley And The Old Dry Skulls members Jo Carley (vocals, mandolin, washboard, percussion, keys) and Tim Carley (battered archtop guitar, rattlin' shoe, kick drum, distorted vintage amps, backing vocals), serves as an outlet for playing the tunes that inspired them to become musicians.

Lead single In My Time of Dying, originally a gospel song by blues artist Blind Willie Johnson, is a succint summation of their craft, getting the job done in two-and-a-half minutes, a far cry from the Led Zeppelin live versions, which tended to stretch it to ten minutes plus most of the time. The duo goes for an upbeat, almost joyous approach, that will be embraced by the dance types at their live shows.

Thurston Moore: Temptation Inside Your Heart

Singer and guitarist Thurston Moore did a fine job with his take on The Velvet Underground's Temptation Inside Your Heart, allowing himself plenty of leeway with a prolonged instrumental part. Fingers crossed he will play it with his band at Oslo Hackney in London on September 13.

» thurstonmoore.com

Icarus Phoenix: I Should Have Known the Things You Never Said (Deluxe Edition)

When Drew Danburry shared his hurt about his divorce on the Icarus Phoenix album I Should Have Known the Things You Never Said last year, it was a pretty intense journey. Those ten songs, including the Mother Lights cover In The Blood, were only the tip of the iceberg. In a flurry of creativity the band recorded 40 (!) songs in three days, with producer Jed Jones as a true ally to keep the the momentum going. The subsequent single releases culled from those sessions were proof that maybe that way too many darlings were killed when assembling the original, so Danburry did a 180° and decided to release 37 songs in all for an expanded deluxe edition, using the order in which they were recorded.

Heartbreak is a source for mixed emotions: hurt, anger, grief, and even relief. The latter comes to the fore in the upbeat Solitude. Drewbury keeps his lyrics pretty straightforward mostly, honouring the folk adage that simple words can tell a great story, but he is not afraid to go the opposite route by comparing the break-up as a conflict between Tachykinin vs. Habenula, which will have most listeners reaching for a medical handbook. Self-deprecating humour is also part of the equation, with Poor Sad Indie Everything, Not Misunderstanding Litotes, and the stop-start approach for Live. Give. Lose. Grow., with the music taking short pauses as well, a highlight from the original album.

Cover Me: Anesthetize

Colin Everall tackled the sprawling Porcupine Tree song Anesthetize on piano. Top shelf arranging skills too.

» Colin Everall on Instagram

Alien Boys: Live at Rain City Recorders

Vancouver based punk quintet Alien Boys honoured the one-take and be damned approach when they captured the four tracks for their Live at Rain City Recorders EP. They played fast, they played loud, shouting at the heavens about night life, rampant capitalism and drugs.

Only slowing down for a cover of PJ Harvey's Down by the Water, they prove that the riot grrrl and hardcore genres are alive and well. Dead Kennedys fans will love them. Sometimes, musical mayhem on steroids might be just what the doctor ordered.

Kristóf Hajós & Bad Nomad: Here Comes The Rain Again

Dutch-Hungarian singer Kristóf Hajós and Bad Nomad teamed up for a slow, melancholic cover of the Eurythmics classic Here Comes The Rain Again. They stripped down the song to its core, making it quite intense.

Heavenly: Portland Town

What if a cult band releases something new after 29 years? Will it suck and put a stain on their reputation? Or, fingers crossed, can it be great and a worthy addition to their discography. Jangly indie pop band Heavenly called it quits in 1996, shortly after drummer Mathew Fletcher had taken his own life. Their reputation survived and their albums, on the legendary Sarah Records label, became collectors items.

Fast forward to September 2022 when the announcement was made that all four studio albums would reissued. It put the band in the spotlights again, among the cognoscenti that is, and now there is actually some new music, a lovely single called Portland Town, inspired by the American city in Oregon, that has become shorthand for anything cool and eco-friendly, a safe haven in a country that is becoming more of a mess each day.