Covers

Good cover albums should always adhere to two basic principles. First, try to pick at least a few relatively obscure songs. Second, always put a unique stamp on your version whenever possible. Weezer mercilessly broke both rules in 2019 with their awful Teal Album. Who wants to hear anyone play note-for-note renditions of instantly recognizable songs? That’s not art, it’s karaoke. Fortunately, Katy Pinke and Will Graefe have selected an interesting and unique batch of songs from a diverse group of songwriters for their beautiful, intimate covers album, Patterns.

Pinke – whose sophomore album, Strange Behavior, was released earlier this year, and Graefe – a highly skilled guitarist who’s worked with Okkervil River, Kesha, Orville Peck, Sam Wilkes and more – conceived the idea of a covers project during a series of duo gigs before recording a series of songs live to tape “in a single-day burst of inspiration”, according to the press notes. The result is refreshingly simple: Pinke on vocals and Graefe on guitar.

While Pinke’s first two records showed a gifted songwriter at work, she’s also known as a tremendous interpreter of other people’s songs: Strange Behavior included a breathtaking cover of Blossom Dearie’s “You Are There”, which stopped me dead in my tracks when I heard her perform it in a tiny Boston-area club a few months ago. She and Graefe do not disappoint here.

Bobbie Gentry‘s “Courtyard” opens the record with gentle confidence and even provides the album’s title in the chorus (“Patterns on a courtyard floor / Illusions of all I’m living for”). While Gentry is best known for her monster 1967 smash hit “Ode to Billie Joe”, choosing a lesser-known song is a brilliant move. The song selection takes an even more interesting turn with SZA‘s “Good Days”. While retrofitting the neo-soul single for an indie-folk template seems unusual on the surface, Pinke’s exquisite vocals, alongside Graefe’s sympathetic accompaniment, showcase the song’s tenderness and beautifully simple melodies.

Frank Ocean and Swedish rapper Yung Lean are among the additional contemporary artists covered on Patterns. The shimmering balladry of Ocean’s “Dear April” is given an achingly heartfelt, almost minimalist treatment here, while Lean’s “Agony”, full of fragile experimental touches in its original form, is transformed by Pinke and Graefe into a long-lost pop-folk classic. It’s essential to note that none of this resembles any genre parody. When, for example, the Gourds released their hillbilly take on Snoop Dogg‘s “Gin and Juice”, it was likely for a cheap laugh. Pinke and Graefe appreciate the artistry in all the songs they’ve chosen to cover here, regardless of format or the song’s original style.

Elsewhere, Paul Simon‘s “Night Game” (from Still Crazy After All These Years) is covered with the record’s one guest appearance. Jake Sherman provides a beautiful chromatic harmonica solo. While it’s not exactly a deep cut, the Beach Boys‘ “Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)” is a pleasant surprise, combining uncomplicated romantic sentiment with the harmonic touches that are so prevalent on the Pet Sounds album. Elliott Smith has been covered numerous times before and since his untimely passing, receiving two songs on Patterns, “Clementine” and “Everything Means Nothing to Me”, which excel in his typical confessional, storytelling style of writing and are treated with grace and eloquence.  

The record’s high point is the cover of Jeff Buckley‘s “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over”. Pink and Graefe don’t reinvent the wheel here; the song is a masterpiece of tender, aching passion, and making large-scale changes to it would be unwise. They stick to a simple, unadorned, acoustic rendition, and Pinke’s voice is an astonishing gift, from gentle murmurs to sweet falsetto to heartfelt soaring; never grandstanding or attempting to outshine Buckley’s classic rendition. The late singer/songwriter’s music has never been in better hands than it is here.

Katy Pinke and Will Graefe are exceptional artists in their own right when performing their own compositions, but as they prove here, they’re also master interpreters with seemingly unlimited gifts. Patterns deserves a seat at the table alongside classic covers albums such as Bryan Ferry‘s These Foolish Things, Willie Nelson‘s Stardust, and Cat Power‘s The Covers Record. It really is that good.