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I Know We Don't Like Indie Bro Covers But This Indie Bro Cover of Cher's 'Believe' is Pure Dynamite

By Petr Navovy | Videos | December 4, 2018 |

By Petr Navovy | Videos | December 4, 2018 |


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Yes, yes. I know. I know. Look, I wasn’t going to post this. I know that we are technically against Mediocre Indie Bro Cover Specials of great women’s pop tunes. But I saw this video yesterday and I’ve just been unable to stop listening to it. So I am gonna post it, fully accepting whatever punishment the Pajiba Politburo sees fit to dole out (the going rate at the moment is five to ten lashes whenever I have a go at Hillary Clinton). Like I say, Kate laid out a pretty solid manifesto for why these kinds of things are often somewhat iffy to say the least. However, I think this cover of Cher’s dance-pop classic ‘Believe’ by Aussie band DMA’s proves a noteworthy exception. Why? For a start it seems genuinely heartfelt, doing what great covers do and staying true to the intent of the original while giving it its own spin. The boys from DMA’s here—who gloriously all look like they took a break from painting the walls of the chip shop to pop into the studio and record this instead of having a smoke break—treat Cher’s tune with respect. In covering it they strip it down to bare bones acoustic essentials. Now, that can often be a shortcut to the aural desolation that is the type of slowed down, sombred-up pop classics that we commonly hear in music trailers these days. Those things are often bloodless and cynical. Not so the DMA’s ‘Believe’. This is vibrant, resonant stuff. Vocalist Thomas O’Dell (who usually also plays the drums) absolutely knocks it out of the park with his mournful yet soaring delivery—all the while masticating like he’s waiting for a cab. There doesn’t seem to be any trace of irony in this, nor is it attempting to hog attention from a recently released tune. Check it out and tell me it isn’t great. If it isn’t I will accept more lashes than usual. This is the DMA’s on Aussie station Triple J’s weekly segment ‘Like a Version’ (haaaaaa) (song starts at 0:26):

(Besides, that’s not even an indie bro cover. That’s more like a Britpop revival bro cover, which I think might be subject to exemption 6c, I’m not sure)



Header Image Source: YouTube