6th November 2023
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There is honestly nothing better than to be introduced to a song and artist via a cover! Due to the lack of gigs and festival coverage, I have taken a trip down memory lane to bring you five cover performances which are *arguably* better than the original!
At the peak of the AM era, The Monkeys decided to bless us with this rendition of Drake’s “Hold On We’re Going Home”. This rendition is a complete 180 from the original synth based tune. It opens with some amazing drum beats from drummer, Matt Helders. Front man Alex Turner then begins to sing with his trademark sexy dancing and deep, soulful voice, accompanied by Helders on backing vocals. This rendition features a heavy drum beat and base line, with some pedalled guitar work. As always, the band looks effortlessly cool, in particular Turner who is rocking sunglasses and a white shirt. As the band reach the finale of the song, they give a shout out to then host Fearne Cotton. Utter Yorkshire class, delivered well.
The Mercury Award winning band did absolute bits with this cover! Whilst the original featured slower vocals and video game synths, this rendition is a lot more fast-paced and almost more upbeat. There are heavy 90’s vibes in this rendition, with the grungy guitars and kid-like vocals from lead singer Ellie Roswell, not to mention the sample of The Cure’s Boys Don’t Cry, as a bridge!
I love the original and I love this rendition! Abandoning the classic guitar riff, for an acoustic, Allen delivers this cover with her trademark sass, and her organic vocals. This was delivered during the era in which Live Lounge was purely acoustic, an oldie but a goodie!
This is a complete jazzy overhaul of the iconic 2013 hit, delivered completely in Arabic, which makes you appreciate the song a whole lot more! The band are accompanied by soul icon Nile Rodgers from the original track on guitar. The vocals in this rendition are much more deeper, and powerful than the soft ones of Pharrell. But what makes this cover really stand out is the string element which is a classic trade mark of Mashrou’ Leila. Whilst I cannot understand the lyrics, this rendition is absolutely fabulous, and so so unique!
I actually discovered the original track via this cover and I can wholeheartedly say I much prefer this version. The original is almost delivered in slow-motion, and is emotional but a more reminiscent, remorseful emotional. The Circa Waves cover is much more fast-paced and organic, featuring the heavy guitar and drum beats from their Different Creatures era. The emotion in this cover appears to an amalgamation of anger and sadness, which is effortlessly delivered by frontman Kieran Shudall.
