Stream: Versionists – a Buzz Bands LA cover songs playlist

on
2

Seems as if a handful of cover songs lands in our inbox every day, and in general we try to curb our enthusiasm, since there is so much original music to tackle. But some recent arrivals have tickled our fancy.

So here is a playlist titled Revisionists — a dozen cover songs from The Bird and the Bee, POP ETC, BONES UK, ASHRR, Freedom Fry, Jenny O., Loyal Lobos, Lauren Rocket, Starcrawler, Prima Donna, Laura Jean Anderson and Shannon Lay.

Fun stuff. We’ll try to do this more often.

||| Stream: Revisionists

The Bird and the Bee, “Hot for Teacher” — Back in 2010, the L.A. duo of songstress Inara George and producer Greg Kurstin released “Interpreting the Masters, Volume One,” which was a tribute to Hall & Oates. Now, they’re taking on … Van Halen? Yes, it’s true. Besides “Hot for Teacher,” which features Beck, there’s “Panama” and more on “Volume Two,” out Aug. 2. That night, the Bird and the Bee will play the Ford Amphitheatre with Dave Grohl on drums and Justin Meldal-Johnsen on bass.

POP ETC, “Dreams” — The Santa Monica-bred trio of Christopher and Jonathan Chu and Julian Harmon have been busy with other projects since releasing their 2016 album “Souvenir.” But they’re back July 26 with “Covers Collection,” a batch of songs by the likes of the Strokes, Paul Simon, Whitney Houston, David Bowie and Bruce Springsteen. And this Fleetwood Mac cover, which was featured on “Big Little Lies.”

BONES UK, “I’m Afraid of Americans” — The L.A.-based British industrial-punk duo included this David Bowie cover on their self-titled debut album, which just came out.

ASHRR, “Cities in Dust” — Fresh off the release of their debut album “Oscillator,” the L.A. synth-rock trio bring their formidable gravitas to a Siouxsie & the Banshees song that calls for nothing less.

Freedom Fry, “Clint Eastwood” — The catalog of the husband-and-wife folk-pop duo is bulging with covers, and this take on the Gorillaz song appears as a B-side on their latest single, “Rio Grande.”

Jenny O., “Can’t Seem to Make You Mine” — We’d be happy just hearing Jenny O. sing the phonebook. Even better is her buttery version of the Seeds’ 1966 single. (By the way, she says via social media that fans should stay tuned for new album news.)

Loyal Lobos, “Alfonsina y El Mar” — The rising L.A.-based Colombian singer, aka Andrea Silva, gives a heavenly rendition of the 1969 tune from the late Argentinian legend Mercedes Sosa.
 
Lauren Rocket, “The Killing Moon” — The pop songstress this week released her debut EP, “Indigo,” on which she tackles the Echo & the Bunnymen classic.

Starcrawler, “Pet Sematary” — Arrow de Wilde and gang bring their edginess to the Ramones’ staple, which they were solicited to cover for the end credits of the film of that name. Starcrawler’s got an album coming later this year.

Prima Donna, “Cruel Summer” — It’d be a cruel summer indeed if somebody didn’t cover this song once a year. The L.A. rockers, who released their self-titled album last year, punch up  the Banarama hit.

Laura Jean Anderson, “I’m Lonely (But I Ain’t That Lonely Yet)” — The White Stripes’ country ballad is in good hands with Anderson, who performs it on her new live EP and quite possibly could on Friday night when she opens for Grizfolk at the Troubadour.

Shannon Lay, “Something on Your Mind” — The fitting finale to this playlist comes from Shannon Lay, who has a new album arriving in August via Sub Pop. Up in heaven, Karen Dalton is smiling.