The 15 Best Cover Songs of 2024
Whether it was Waxahatchee singing Lucinda Williams or Iron & Wine breathing new life into American Football, 2024 was a great year for cover songs.
Continuing on with list season, we’re pivoting our focus to the best cover songs of the year. We opted to limit the ranking to one entry per project, as something like Thanks to I Saw the TV Glow, TRAИƧA, Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense anniversary and Grand Jury celebrating 10 years of being a label, we’ve had a lot of great, great material to enjoy this year. Whether it was viral songs or faithful re-dos of beloved, generational and even obscure music, it’s been an incredible 12 months of tremendous takes on modern and age-old classics. Here are our picks for the best cover songs of 2024, picked by the Paste music staff. —Matt Mitchell, Music Editor
15. Andrew Bird & Madison Cunningham: “Without a Leg to Stand On” (Lindsey Buckingham & Stevie Nicks)
It’s always risky to cover a beloved song, but Andrew Bird and Madison Cunningham have no such qualms—their October album Cunningham Bird is a complete recreation of Buckingham Nicks, the long-adored (and now, tragically, out-of-print) fruit of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks’s pre-Fleetwood Mac collaboration. To rectify this streaming injustice, Bird and Cunningham took matters into their own hands, and we are all better off for it. “Without a Leg to Stand On” is an undeniably intimate reimagining of Buckingham and Nicks’s track of the same name, feeling at once like a cool breeze and a warm blanket. It’s an incredibly faithful cover—but not so much in letter as in spirit. Everything from the tempo to the arrangement to the tone has been transformed, allowing the song’s original tender mix of melancholy and sweetness to not only be maintained, but to feel heightened, to take center-stage. Quiet, soft, and thoroughly lovely, “Without a Leg to Stand On” is an update to the source material, yes, but also a song that undoubtedly stands on its own. —Casey Epstein-Gross
Read: “After Winning a Grammy For Best Folk Album, Madison Cunningham Gives Revealer a Second Life”
14. Bat For Lashes: “Home” (DJ Bauuer)
Natasha Khan crafted a deeply personal and emotionally resonant collection of music for her daughter, most evident on the singles released ahead of her album The Dream of Delphi. “Home” is an especially poignant continuation of these love letters—serving as a gift for the album’s titular muse. According to Khan, this was her favorite song. “Home” is a cover of DJ Bauuer’s dance track, but Khan’s rendition transforms the crisp beats of the original into a dreamy swirl of delightful, grooving electronica—as she promises, “I’m on my way.” The album is a deeply intimate reflection of how motherhood reshapes your life and your perspective on it, and the inclusion of Delphi’s favorite song is a testament to the limitless depth of a mother’s love. —Olivia Abercrombie
13. Paramore: “Burning Down the House” (Talking Heads)
Saving Side B of Talking Heads’ tribute record Everyone’s Getting Involved from being totally forgettable is Paramore’s animated, faithful take on “Burning Down the House.” Hayley Williams and her band waste no time trying to fit the Speaking in Tongues hit into a Paramore-shaped box, and that is what makes the cover work so well. And yet, Williams does let her bandleader sensibilities ooze into the soundscape here, and the rock ‘n’ roll charisma she’s flaunted for two decades rages on here and brightens the entire compilation up until this point. As an added bonus, Paramore loves this cover so much that they were playing it every night when opening for Taylor Swift in Europe. Where many artists on this compilation sound like covering their songs was a chore or an in-and-out cash-grab, Paramore dress “Burning Down the House” up just as the Talking Heads did 40 years ago—if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and Williams sounds like a true David Byrne progeny here. —Matt Mitchell
Read: “Time Isn’t After Talking Heads”
12. Caroline Polachek: “Coma” (default genders)
“Coma” is a cover of “pharmacoma (for ben dietz)” by default genders, the obscure EDM project of Canadian musician Jaime Brooks. The beat on “Coma” is identical to the original, but it’s only elevated by the addition of Polachek’s heavenly vocals. The instrumental starts with a wandering piano and the beeping of a heart monitor before expanding into the most intricate and captivating jungle beats you’ll hear this year so far. The lyrics “If this is a dream / I don’t wanna wake up / It feels so good to me / Like I can’t get enough” fit perfectly into the themes of uncontrollable love and lust that Desire, I Want To Turn Into You explores, and the more I listen to the gospel of Caroline Polachek, the more I am convinced I’ll fall in love on a train. —Leah Weinstein
11. Carson McHone: “I Couldn’t Say It To Your Face” (Arthur Russell)
I would wager that Arthur Russell is just as influential on this modern crop of singer-songwriters as Elliott Smith, and Carson McHone’s cover of “I Couldn’t Say It To Your Face” proves that. McHone, who’s been touring consistently with the Daniel Romano Outfit in the two years since dropping her Merge Records debut, Still Life, makes Russell’s gem her own. The way she sings “It’s my world, it’s my song, didn’t ask you to sing along” is an especially powerful delivery, as if her take on the song is as much an act of reclamation as it is an act of empowerment. McHone’s vocal soars without flaw even in the challenge of Russell’s music, shining beyond and pulling you in close. —Matt Mitchell
10. Royel Otis: “Murder on the Dancefloor” (Sophie Ellis-Bextor)
Floppy member, lines of coke, maudlin-yet-sinister dollhouse and dimly lit extravagance on display for all to see, “Murder on the Dancefloor” and its rapturous excellence matched the sensationalism of Emerald Fennell’s milieu fabulously—and covering it made total sense for Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic, but it was an at-the-buzzer choice for the Aussie duo. And as it stands, Royel Otis’ cover of “Murder on the Dancefloor” sits at nearly 50 million streams on Spotify, but the cover first went big on TikTok, amassing over 13 million views and becoming an infectious audio snippet—and for good reason, it’s easily one of the best cover songs released in 2024. Sophie Ellis-Bextor herself was a fan of the cover, and tons of users flocked to the band’s original post to declare their newfound fandom on account of Pavlovic’s nonchalant, unimpeachable singing and Maddell’s tight guitar moves. The buzz grew quickly and rather organically online, happening during one of Royel Otis’ rare breaks from the road. With their debut album Pratts & Pain’s release close by, Maddell and Pavlovic couldn’t have bought publicity that good. —Matt Mitchell
Read: “Royel Otis Linger in the Glow of Stardom”
9. Beyoncé: “BLACKBIIRD” (The Beatles)
In terms of quantity, the world probably doesn’t need any more Beatles covers anytime soon. But, in terms of quality, it’s hard to argue against Beyoncé’s take on “Blackbird”—stylizing it as “BLACKBIIRD” on her new album, COWBOY CARTER and performing it with Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts. Paul McCartney, who wrote “Blackbird” in the summer of 1968 as the Civil Rights Movement continued on in the States, co-signed Beyoncé’s cover, and her reinforcement of McCartney’s original intentions behind the song. For as big as Beyoncé’s voice is, she softens it up on “BLACKBIIRD” and uses the original Beatles backing track in her version, pairing modernity with tradition in a symphonic, splendid way. —Matt Mitchell
8. Waxahatchee & MJ Lenderman: “Abandoned” (Lucinda Williams)
In this stunning reinterpretation of Lucinda Williams’s “Abandoned,” Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield and MJ Lenderman craft a version that’s equal parts reverent and raw. Stripped back to its emotional core, this cover is a masterclass in quiet devastation. Where Williams’s original slow-burn pulses with a kind of wild longing, Crutchfield and Lenderman’s rendition peels it back even further to reveal the unimaginable expanse of yearning underneath. Released as part of Crutchfield’s Apple Music Nashville Sessions EP, the track stands out not just for its haunting vocals but for the chemistry between the two artists, who inhabit the song together, building a home inside it. It’s a version that doesn’t try to compete with the already incredible original; instead, it transforms it into something equally timeless, but with a fresh, intimate touch. —Casey Epstein-Gross
Read: “Waxahatchee Has More Stories to Tell”
7. yeule: “Anthems For a Seventeen Year-Old Girl” (Broken Social Scene)
From beginning to end, I Saw the TV Glow measures itself through escapism. Jane Schoenbrun’s new film starts with a young boy, Owen, mesmerized—or frightened—by the blue, pink and purple hues of a parachute draped over him and his gym classmates. A skylight sits at the top, telegraphing white light above a dozen bodies. It’s foreboding, uneasy. If you’re trans or nonbinary, maybe the color palette stuck out to you immediately. If you’re cisgender, perhaps a flicker of memory from a quieter, less complicated time washed over you. Maybe you found yourself flirting with both sides of the spectrum, letting the relics of your gender and your past intertwine. Behind the vibrancy, a song rings out: yeule’s cover of Broken Social Scene’s “Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl.” The viewer likely doesn’t know it yet, but the “Used to be one of the rotten ones and I liked you for that / Now you’re all gone, got your makeup on and you’re not coming back” lines have been reclaimed as something not sinister, but expressive, liberating and, quite possibly, excruciatingly familiar. An absolutely crazy pull from the 2002 vault to match the nostalgic setting of the VHS generation, the Singaporean artist breathes a new life into the track—bringing their glitchy aesthetic to a gliding string section transporting you to the world of the film’s fictional Pink Opaque television program filled with misshapen monsters dripping in vibrant colors. —Matt Mitchell
6. Kara Jackson: “Right, Wrong or Ready” (Karen Dalton)
Chicago singer-songwriter Kara Jackson has always excelled at storytelling within her own music. On her latest single, a masterful cover of Karen Dalton’s 1969 folk song “Right, Wrong Or Ready,” Jackson gives us a studio rendition of the tune she regularly opens her live sets with. The subtle power of her voice is striking in the track, and her low, smoky alto meanders in the drawn-out vocal phrases—tenderly filling the space alongside a solo acoustic guitar. Jackson warmly adapts the track into her own, creating a fresh feeling of closeness and intimacy derived from the origina—breathing new life into the classic song and crafting a full-bodied interpretation with a newfound weight to it. —Grace Ann Natanawan
5. Samia: “Making Breakfast” (Twin Peaks)
“Making Breakfast,” off Twin Peaks’ 2014 album Wild Onion, is a short and sweet delight, whether listening to the Chicago garage rockers’ original or indie-pop artist Samia’s largely faithful rendition. It’s hard to believe that song is a decade old now; I still remember reveling in the lo-fi guitar and devil-may-care chorus in college, when “Got egg yolk on my bed, Chinese food on the way” may as well have been my mantra. Samia is clearly having a lot of fun here even as she sticks to the script, from the little “chick-ah” following the opening fuzz of guitars, to the playful howls as the song closes. Going from the velvety, deep timbre of Clay Frankel’s voice to Samia’s high, graceful tones is akin to switching from eggs and bacon to a stack of pancakes with honey butter and maple syrup—both are delicious, just depends on what you’re in the mood for. —Clare Martin
4. Perfume Genius & Alan Sparhawk: “Point of Disgust” (Low)
For Red Hot’s TRAИƧA compilation, Perfume Genius’ Mike Hadreas teamed up with Alan Sparhawk for a new rendition of his band Low’s “Point of Disgust.” Prior to the collaboration, Hadreas only knew Sparhawk from the music, but he’d written rather extensively about loving Low’s music and Mimi Parker’s voice, especially on songs she sang alone, like “Point of Digust.” Movement has always been so integral in every Perfume Genius composition, and Hadreas’s performance of “Point of Disgust” is nothing if not enriched by the act of motion—falling hard, falling fast. It’s like a ballet. “Point of Disgust”’s refrain—“Mercy me, never last”—lingers, and Hadreas and Sparhawk didn’t have to decorate it very much. Getting choked up, Hadreas recalls how the two musicians felt very emotional when working together, and that their collaboration made for a healing, holistic formula. “There is a real somatic quality to a lot of Low’s music,” Hadreas told me. “When I first heard it, when I was younger, it was like this weird mirror—aspiration—to where I know my body wants to go.” He explained that doing a cover song is hard, because you want to be faithful while bringing yourself into it, but that he “felt very emotional” before even getting to the studio with Sparhawk. “I have such an emotional attachment to the song, and I just wanted to have that all be in there—the love I have for them and their music, and what it’s done for me, and how much I love Mimi’s voice and the lyrics.” —Matt Mitchell
Read: “TRAИƧA Casts a Potent, Holistic Light on Transgender Awareness”
3. Squirrel Flower: “Cortez the Killer” (Neil Young & Crazy Horse)
If you were lucky enough to witness the Squirrel Flower cover of “Cortez the Killer” at Stereogum and Topshelf Records’ Austin party in March, then you’re likely already well-aware of how incredible it is. Ella Williams performed a solo set until, for the final leg of the performance, she was joined on stage by a superb band: Greg Freeman, alexalone’s Alex Peterson, Horse Jumper of Love’s Dimitri Giannopolous, Truth Club’s Travis Harrington, Michael Cantella and Teethe’s Kai Wilde. I mean, I can’t think of a modern-day seven-piece supergroup more talented than that, and the 10-minute rendition of one of Shakey’s all-time greatest tracks delivered in every conceivable way—head-splitting guitar solos, simmering interludes and Williams’s weathered, warbling lead vocal included. It’s like living through seeing Neil himself perform “Helpless” with the Band and Joni Mitchell. Sometimes, the most unbelievable feats of magic get captured on tape for the rest of the world to hear. —Matt Mitchell
Read: “Squirrel Flower Finds Her Flame”
2. Iron & Wine: “Never Meant” (American Football)
After returning from a trip back to Mike Kinsella’s (and also my) hometown of Chicago, I have been spiritually re-tuned with the sights and sounds that ultimately made emo music what it is today. The grazing melancholia of American Football’s 1999 self-titled debut was put into the hands of some of the brightest musicians working today via a covers album, and what better way to introduce the rehashing of this classic album than Iron & Wine covering its most iconic track? The approach Sam Beam takes with “Never Meant” re-contextualizes it into what feels like an apology—as opposed to a eulogy for what could have been. The song’s infamous guitar lick is largely abandoned, save for nods at the beginning and end of the track, as the outro finds it blended with Beam’s lush vocal harmonies, layered acoustic guitars and a gentle, arpeggiating synth. It sounds like something straight out of Bon Iver’s self-titled record, and Iron & Wine’s take truly does so much justice to a song so quintessential to what emo has become. —Leah Weinstein
Read: “American Football’s Silver Jubilee”
1. Merce Lemon: “I See a Darkness” (Bonnie “Prince” Billy)
Released as a double-single with “Gulf Shores” in January 2024, Merce Lemon and her band—Reid Magette, Pat Coyle, Ben Brody and Spencer Smith—teamed up with Colin Miller and Alex Farrar to cover Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s 1999 song “I See a Darkness.” It’s my belief that Will Oldham’s original take on the song is one of the best inclusions in modern music. But, Merce and her band completely rewire the emotional bandwidth of Oldham’s words. “Well I hope that someday, buddy, we have peace in our lives—together or apart, alone or with our wives / Then we can stop our whoring and pull the smiles inside and light it up forever and never go to sleep” are lyrics that sounded just as incredibly devastating passing through Oldham’s lips as Bonnie “Prince” Billy as they did crawling across the cobblestone of Johnny Cash’s shredded voice, the kind of lines that evoke the strange, pervasive antiquity of the Appalachia they were written in. And those lyrics sound permanently overwhelming when Merce Lemon sings them. —Matt Mitchell
Read: “Merce Lemon: “The Best of What’s Next”