Ten Cover Songs To Enhance Your Weekend

1. Violet (Hole) by Lauren Tate (Hands Off Gretel)

Not an easy song to pull off vocally, but Hands Off Gretel's Lauren Tate has a voice that can easily rival Courtney Love.
 
2. Shake It Off (Taylor Swift) by Charli XCX

Charli and her band turned Taylor's hit into a spunky pop-punk anthem for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge.

3. Oblivion (Grimes) by Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand did a live, unplugged version of Grimes' hugely addictive song for a French radio station.

4. Needle In The Hay (Elliott Smith) by Juliana Hatfield

Recorded for the I Saved Latin! A Tribute To Wes Anderson compilation, Juliana puts her own spin on Elliott's song, without sacrificing any of the original's intensity.

5. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (The Smiths) by Dum Dum Girls

This fuzzy cover can be found of the bands' EP, He Gets Me High.

6. Lies (CHVRCHES) by Muse

Another Live Lounge gem - Muse took CHVRCHES' dark synth pop track and added in some fuzzy bass and distortion.

 

7. Falling (Haim) by CHVRCHES

I love this cover. CHVRCHES turned a song I like into a blippy, synthy song that I love.

 

8. On a Mission (Katy B) by The Skints

The Skints stripped back, toned-down version is just as catchy as Katy B's version.

 

9. The Mother We Share (CHVRCHES) by SOAK

I know, I've two CHVRCHES covers in this list... but that's how good they both are! SOAK’s acoustic version of this song adds a tenderness and fragility.

10. Stay With Me (Sam Smith) by FKA Twigs

FKA Twigs managed to take Sam Smith's boring, overrated shit-fest and turn it into a darkly, haunting, actually interesting song - wow!

Top Ten Albums of 2015

There's less than a month left of the year, which means lots of tinsel, lots of colourful lights and lots of -end-of-year lists.  So, in the interest of conformity, here are my favourite albums of this year!

1. Sleater-Kinney - No Cities To Love

After being on a ten-year-hiatus, Sleater-Kinney blessed us with this piece of magic. In what was possibly the stealthiest reformation ever, the band managed to record the whole album, in secret, before even letting the world know they were back together.

2. Veruca Salt - Ghost Notes

Reviewed Here!

3. The Juliana Hatfield Three - Whatever, My Love 

Let's be honest, Juliana isn't really capable of making a bad album, is she?

4. Grimes - Art Angels

Reviewed Here!

5. PINS - Wild Nights

Whereas PINS debut Girls Like Us slowly grew on me and climbed it's way onto my mental list of albums I love, Wild Nights was an album I instantly fell in love with. 

6. CHVRCHES - Every Open Eye

A bolder album than their debut, The Bones of What You Believe, without losing their knack for a catchy hook. The vocals are stronger, the music more confrontational.

7. Wolf Alice - My Love Is Cool

  
8. Jennie Vee - Spying

It's been an exciting year for ex-Tuuli frontwoman Jennie Vee; as well as touring with Courtney Love as her bassist, she also released her first solo album.

9. Kitten Forever - Pressure

Cramming 13 tracks in just under 23 minutes, every second counts on Kitten Forever's second album.

10. Girlpool - Before the World Was Big 

"Before the World Was Big" is the perfect title for this album, it sums up everything this record is about. Girlpool's songs take an introspective look at what it means to enter adulthood and leave the comparative simplicity of youth behind. In ten short songs, they manage to paint such vivid pictures, towing the line between nostalgia and realisation.

So, those are my picks! What albums have you enjoyed this year?