On the covers of Stop Making Sense go. A classic album picked apart by contemporary minds who hope to steer close to the David Byrne and Talking Heads influence. At least with Lorde, there is a feasible connection between her creative run and the big-suited frontman. Said suit is now an icon of the feature, transcending the band itself and bringing with it the storm of dull, Gainsboro grey. Though Lore may not don the suit as Hayley Williams of Paramore did for their punchy cover of Burning Down the House, the Pure Heroine brainstormer has a honed and impressive take on one of Talking Heads’ finest efforts – a cover of an Al Green classic. The potent blend of faith and feelings of lust proves a broad powerhouse for Lorde to cover.
Immediate changes pour through. Heavier percussion, those whirring electronics and a focus on the uplifted and out-there impressions Stop Making Sense brought to the table. Byrne relied on a slow build and so does Lorde. All that changes, like the Paramore cover of Burning Down the House, is the vocal performance at the heart of it. Confidence in the skills of a vocalist to turn a cover into their own. Where it may be hard to separate Take Me to the River from Talking Heads, Lorde is covering Al Green but retrofitting it with the stylish choices of Byrne and the gang. A cover of a cover. We dive deeper into the well of meta-like creations and Lorde strips away the flutters of heartbreak found in the Byrne adaptation.
Lorde restrains the vocal style more than the Byrne cover. It is by no means monotone or one-note, but it maintains a steady, discomforting pitch and a sly drone of being engulfed by the waters of change. We should embrace this whirlwind. After a few listens it becomes apparent Lorde can only add her vocal inflictions to this. As Burning Down the House was spun on the strengths of Williams’ vocal work, so too is Take Me to the River with Lorde. Her floaty vocal performance settles in well, a slight layer of electronic manipulation gives it those slight, gasping and raspy qualities which keep the tempo slick and moving towards this hopeful target of reaching bodies of water. What they represent is crucial though and for this Lorde cover it does not sound as though there is much change at play. Dip yourselves into the literal bath of water provided by the trips to the river.
Take Me to the River has the same highs as the Paramore cover – and maintains the usual troubles. Stop Making Sense is a finite piece of perfection and hearing it taken on by other artists settles as interesting but ineffective to the original core. A tribute album can only go so far, no matter who is drafted in, and while this cover from Lorde is a nice tease of new material from the post-Solar Power times, it does little to elevate any new ideas or refine the old ones. Lorde proves a promising draw for the project which still feels a little gutted by the desire A24 has in mass-producing tie-in pieces. At least it is of good quality, as is expected of Lorde.
