Attack of the covers: Greg Laswell, That Noise

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Last week I posted three cover songs by L.A. artists, and the wave continues:

greglaswell4On his forthcoming “Covers” EP (due Oct. 6 on Vanguard), SoCal singer-songwriter Greg Laswell covers Kristin Hersh’s “Your Ghost,” the gorgeous spectre of a song that led off her “Hips and Makers” album some 15 long years ago. Now, I like Laswell and featured him in my Times column a couple years ago, but … well, on the vast musical ocean of Buzz Bands, Ms. Hersh fairly walks on water. “Your Ghost” is a song for desperate moments in darkened rooms; Laswell has merely made it safe for coffeehouses (and, apparently, KCRW).

||| Listen to Hersh’s original, which features Michael Stipe’s vocals.

||| Download: Greg Laswell’s “Your Ghost”

thatnoise1L.A. quartet That Noise has taken a little of the denim out of Kings of Leon’s ubiquitous hit “Sex on Fire” and replaced with a bit of latex. It doesn’t help me get past the cringeworthy lyrics at all, but it’s a cool take on a radio anthem. The song appears on That Noise’s forthcoming album, “Derivatives.”

||| Download: “Sex on Fire”

Photo: Greg Laswell by Joseph Llanes