Kevin Bronson on June 12th, 2012

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[Covers: Sometimes the songs don’t remain the same …]

Harlan, “Dirty Laundry”– Few artists inhabit the late 1970s and early ’80s with such proficiency and zeal as Harlan, whose debut EP (and recent live shows, including the Echo residency, above) revealed him as a shredder/soul man who plays it so close to the vest you can’t tell whether he’s being ironic. We don’t think he is, but you won’t care. Here, with vocal contributions from Jen Hirsh, he takes on Don Henley’s “Dirty Laundry.” Nineteen eighty-two, such a fine year. Harlan opens for Mayer Hawthorne at the Wiltern on Friday night.

Tapioca & the Flea, “Nowhere Man” – The newbie quartet, who impressed when we saw them at Brokechella, love their reverb and their rhythms. They’ve splashed a Beatles classic with both, in a way that even old-schoolers (ahem) will find hard to hate. Tapioca & the Flea open for Robert DeLong on July 11 at the Troubadour.

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, “Baby feat. Dam-Funk” – With the announcement that he has a new album, “Mature Themes,” coming out via 4AD on Aug. 25, Ariel Pink unveiled this cool take on a 1979 song from an all-but-forgotten (ah, but not by Light in the Attic Records) act from Washington state, Donnie & Joe Emerson. Dam-Funk lends his vocals to the song, which 4AD will release as a one-sided 12-inch on July 10. Ariel Pink plays the Fonda on Oct. 5.