Vanessa Carlton Covers Robyn’s “Call Your Girlfriend,” First Of Six
Vanessa Carlton’s last album, Liberman, came out in fall 2015. It launched stunning singles like “Blue Pool,” “Operator,” “House Of Seven Swords,” and “Nothing Where Something Used To Be,” then led to two live releases: Liberman Live and the Earlier Things Live EP. In 2017, Vanessa revealed she was working on a new album, performing its potential title track, “Love Is An Art,” for lucky fans. But this year, before sharing new original music, Vanessa is kicking things off with a series of six covers. First up is her cover of Robyn’s 2011 single, “Call Your Girlfriend”; Vanessa released the audio last week before sharing its music video today.
Robyn’s original version of “Call Your Girlfriend” – taken from her 2010 album Body Talk – is a chiming electropop anthem. Stylistically, it’s quite different from the musical space Vanessa has occupied, especially on her last two albums. And so it’s surprising but delightful to hear Vanessa stay true to that original pop sound. She sings high and sweet, sounding right at home on the track. As the song develops, more of the natural instruments we expect to hear with Vanessa come in, adding texture to the song. The instrumentalists come courtesy of Vanessa’s husband John McCauley’s band, Deer Tick.
Talking about the song, Vanessa told Stereogum:
It’s great when a song with nuance like this blows up in pop culture. The lyric is so clever. Once I took it on, I realized the structure is far more unconventional than you might think as well. Plus I got to play with members of the band Deer Tick on this. They happened to be in Nashville when I was recording this song. Dennis Ryan played drums and Chris Ryan played bass. So fresh.
Today, “Call Your Girlfriend” gets a fresh music video, too. The video showcases old film footage taken from a variety of movies and shows from decades past. The result is a video that plays like a classic film, somehow nostalgic and hypnotic yet uplifting. Director Patrick McPheron compiled the footage.
Vanessa told Billboard:
I was immediately struck by his musicality and his eerie aesthetic. I love it when you come across a video that is so compelling that you have to watch it until the end… how rare! I love the juxtaposition of this video….how prim and proper these couples are set against a song about betrayal. It’s very Patrick.
Watch Vanessa Carlton’s music video for “Call Your Girlfriend” below:
You can stream or download Vanessa’s “Call Your Girlfriend” cover at all the major music providers here.
“Call Your Girlfriend” is the first of six covers that Vanessa will release over a period of six months. Expect to hear more between April and August!
Stay tuned for the next five covers from Vanessa. She’s also working on her next album, expected late this year or sometime in 2019. There’s plenty going on in the Vanessa Carlton world now! Keep checking back here for all the latest music news.
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