Vanessa Carlton Ends Covers Series With Final Single, “Lonely Girls”
For the past five months, Vanessa Carlton has treated fans to a six-covers series. In March, she kicked things off with a cover of Robyn’s “Call Your Girlfriend,” followed by Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” in April and Neil Young’s “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” in May. In June and July, Vanessa covered Fred Neil’s “Little Bit Of Rain” and then “Needle In The Hay,” originally by Elliott Smith. Today, Vanessa brings her Six Covers / Six Months project to a close with her take on “Lonely Girls,” originally released by Lucinda Williams in 2001.
Vanessa revealed how she chose to cover “Lonely Girls”:
I’m a big Lucinda Williams fan but I had never heard this song. My producer Adam Landry suggested it and I was charmed. Adam played the heartbeat percussion and that’s when the song came alive in the studio. I thought if I got the Watson Twins to do this with me it would really create an interesting feminine depth. We are all lonely girls navigating the game aren’t we?
Lucinda’s “Lonely Girls” was a meditative alternative country ballad, the opener to her sixth album, Essence. On Vanessa Carlton’s new cover, however, the song transforms into a stormy indie hymn. Rolling drums and sparse guitar strums complement Vanessa’s sweet but dry vocals.
A new music video accompanies the cover. Vanessa and two other women hover together, mimicking each other’s contemplative and melancholy movements. It’s a simple but effective portrayal of the titular loneliness that plagues these girls in their day-to-day activities.
Watch the music video for “Lonely Girls” below:
You can stream or purchase “Lonely Girls” from all the major music providers here. Be sure to check out Vanessa’s first five covers, too. She covered Robyn’s “Call You Girlfriend” in March, Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” in April, Neil Young’s “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” in May, Fred Neil’s “Little Bit Of Rain” in June, and Elliott Smith’s “Needle In The Hay” in July.
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. In a new interview with The Cut, Vanessa spoke a bit more about the album, revealing that it’s “partially inspired by Michael Pollan’s new book How to Change Your Mind. The concept came about a few years ago, based on a collaboration with indie music producer Dave Fridmann.”
And these six covers may be an indication of how her new music will sound. She told The Cut:
Doing covers is a way, as a musician, to see A) where your head’s at, because how are you going to interpret this? It’s like a mirror. And then B) it’s also a place where you can experiment and try different sounds.
Now that we’ve heard all six covers, they can soundtrack our eager anticipation of Vanessa’s sixth album, due in 2019. Keep checking back here for all the latest Vanessa Carlton music news.
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