Image: The Fader

Laura Mvula Covers Tame Impala’s “New Person, Same Old Mistakes”

Gearing up for the release of her new album, The Dreaming Room, Laura Mvula joined the BBC 1 Academy’s Live Lounge to perform new single Phenomenal Woman. She also found the time for a cover of Tame Impala’s New Person, Same Old Mistakes from the band’s latest album.

Without tampering too much with the original arrangement, Mvula definitely brings her own spin to the track. Changing out the synth melody for a sitar like instrumentation, a throbbing bass line and sparse beats feel like vintage Fugees tracks – especially coupled with a female chorus chant and Mvula’s gorgeous vocals, with just a touch of grit. Her version has less of Tame Impala’s dreamy electronica, touching more on hip-hop and with a delicious aggression, building to a menacing, emotionally charged finale.

Performing her latest release, Phenomenal Woman strikes out a similarly brooding note before launching into a kind of dark disco. Funk inspired and bass heavy, quick moving chorus and Mvula stretching her vocals out to a real diva attitude. Not to mention a breakdown that has all the glitz of Bicycle Race era Queen. There’s no doubting that Mvula has picked up the pace since her gorgeous 2013 release, Sing To The Moon, with it’s old world inspired cinematic sounds.

A cover of Tame Impala’s New Person, Same Old Mistakes also appeared on Rihanna’s album ANTI. Her version received the band’s approval, and I can’t imagine that Laura Mvula’s cover will meet with a different response from Kevin Parker and co. You can listen to both performances below.

Image: The Fader