What does it take to do a good cover? Well, probably the first prerequisite is to have some good music in you and to understand the music you want to cover.
Those two prerequisites allow the covering artist to go any way they choose - make a full (trout mask) replica, only slightly change the original, or go for a full reconstruction, top to bottom.
Still, then, what is probably the hardest song/music to cover? Most probably the one closest to you - your own.
The band/artist that can probably do both, with ease is Yo La Tengo. Whether it is their talent, understanding, and musical knowledge (possibly coming from their more than vast personal music collection), or whatever else, the core trio of Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley, and James McNew are able to cover anybody, anyhow and anywhere, including themselves.
Prime example - the originally released version of their song ‘Barnaby, Hardly Working’ includes everything from gentle acoustic and buzzing electric guitars to practically bells and whistles, while the stripped down version presented on their brilliant covers album ‘Fakebook’ just strips the song down to its basics just adding a touch of electric guitar to give it that extra touch.
Moon Walker - Singing For No One
Incorporating your musical influences into your own music is not as easy as it might seem. Yet, Brooklyn’s Moon Walker channels his love for David Bowie and The Beatles quite nicely.
Beharie - Don’t Forget Me
Norwegian singer-songwriter Beharie has that songwriting touch and vocals that can transform any music into something gentle and inviting with his obvious love for soul-inflected music.
HalfNoise - Love Fire
Zac Farro, aka HalfNoise, has quite a number of well-known musical friends in L.A. working with the likes of HAIM, Mac DeMarco, and White Denim, helping him create quite a rich sound here and throughout his new album.
The Fugitives - (No Help)
This Canadian quartet decided to go for an environmental theme on their latest album, with this brief introduction to it making its point clear.
Floor Space - Self-Destruct
This is prime post-punk stuff that works and that benefits quite well from that post element that includes as good production values as you can get.
Shower Curtain - edgar
Moving from Brazil to Brooklyn helped Victoria Winter turn her solo project into a full-fledged quartet that prefers shoegaze to samba, and makes it good. Samba would fit them well too.
Bonnie Montgomery - I’ll Know
Montgomery is one of those artists who can cover any sort of roots music from gospel to blues but is at the same time a trained opera singer, and as you might expect, her vocal capabilities shine here.
Kit Grill - Swimming In Honey
Working for a radio station like NPR gives you access to such a wide range of music that as an artist, you have to use it as much as you can and Kit Grill seems to be waned on the best sophistic pop from the eighties, from The Blue Nile to Durutti Column.
Like a Doll - Don’t throw your words
Emma Stacher leads this six-person collective that goes for some complex left-field pop prog combination that no matter what field it is in, is so easy on the ear.
S/J - Friends For When
This singer-songwriter is a prime example of what acoustic punk or post-punk, if you will not only sounds, but also should sound like.
King Dream - The Wild Card
Oakland’s Jeremy Lyon and his band seem to draw their influences from so many sources that they are a bit hard to pin down. They just might be that wild card they are singing about here.
Andrea von Kampen - Sister Moon
To go out just with your voice guitar and a subdued backing as Andrea does here, takes both true ability and courage, and von Kampen seems to have ample reserves of both, and it really works for her.
Umarells - Closer
Going for it without any particular pretensions can actually work wonders, and this quartet seems to take that route which works so well for them here.
Les Amazones d’Afrique - Kuma Fo
This an African female super group that sings in their native languages from Mali, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, and Congo-Brazzaville, but it is their voices that carry the day.
Chilly Gonzales & Richard Clayderman - Richard Et Moi
The ever-changing musical chameleon Chilly Gonzales goes to Paris and France in general here, employing one of the kings of smooth Richard Clayderman, and hits the target center… again.
Grandaddy - Watercooler
It is so good to have Grandaddy back with fresh material and this single is just a confirmation that they have not lost any of their cool yet.
Wilderado - In Between
This is yet another example of how you can re-interpret yourself and do it well. Engaging the help of The National’s Matt Berninger will certainly help.
NICKY - Who Know Where The Time Goes?
Another cover, this time a very hard one to do, because the late Sandy Denny was such a prodigy and her signature song is so hard to do, even if you go just note for note, but NICKY, does an excellent job here.
Mereki - In Everything
Fairytales were often part of folk songs, and Australian/English singer Mereki has one of those voices that would easily suit both. From her excellent debut album.
John Buffalo - Who Gotta Lighter?
DIY stuff from this Texas guy who moves from LCD Soundsystem to hip hop and back without blinking and makes it with quite some ease.