The pandemic was filled with a bunch of not so great stuff for music and for artists. Albums were put on hold. Tours were cancelled. And an influx of b-sides from dusty hard drives made their way into the release cycle so bands could stay relevant without sharing their best stuff in a time of so much uncertainty and no live shows. One thing that thrived during the pandemic was covers. Everyone and their mom released a cover or a cover EP or a cover ALBUM if they were so bold.
The covers trend has not died as we have started creeping back towards some sense of normalcy. In the past week or so covers from both Black Midi and Idles have come out that have been surprisingly very good. Not because the bands aren’t capable of good music, but more so that so often covers fall flat by either doing too much or not enough.
Black Midi included a covers flexi with their physical for Cavlacade featuring a career defining cover of Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” which I couldn’t forget about even if I wanted to. Idles released a modernized cover of Gang of Four’s “Damaged Goods” that celebrates the integrity of the song while stamping Idles signature sound on it. “Damaged Goods” is also just one of the covers on the compilation record The Problem of Leisure: A celebration of Andy Gill and Gang of Four, out today June 4th.
Reinventing the wheel may be and old standby, but covers are here to stay and only getting better. Check out these to sample where the bar is currently at.
