Beast Parade Drop A Brilliant Cover of "Blue Orchid"

One of my favorite rock duos, Beast Parade, dropped a massive album and, since then, have focused on releasing cover songs with such a wide range of influences, all serving as an ode to the bands that they love.

With each new rendition of a classic single, they hit a heavy-handed variety from Pink Floyd to Kris Kristofferson and some others in between that are unbelievably well done.

With each of these covers, they bring their own influence to the table, taking on some of their signature attributes in alternative and indie rock with a blend of color and edge that always leaves songs feeling addictive and with that classic pop overtone at times.

The latest in their string of single cover releases is their version of "Blue Orchid", originally by The White Stripes.

Their rendition of this single works so well because they take the time to capture similar aesthetics of the original track but also morph it into their own simultaneously.

For example, the way the drums are performed and recorded is key to this particular cover. The drums feel 'in room'. They're not flat, but instead have this little bit of reverb like the microphones were distanced from the drums just slightly enough so that you can feel this almost live performance, standing in the same room sound.

The way they laid that out was brilliant because it adds a certain energy and liveliness to the track.

This super fun, colorful, and pop-riddled rock banger never loses its energy.

The production is crisp and has a great low end, so it all feels super tight, but that element of loose garage rock is still evident.

The guitar tone of the original track is almost mimicked here, and I think it's awesome how they took the time to actually find the right sound so that they're doing Justice to the atmosphere of the original song.

I don't think a lot of bands do that kind of thing.

Beast Parade takes that time to capture the tone of each cover song; they still do the same thing. They take time to make sure the guitar tones, drums, and vocals are all coming across the way they want them to.

This way, they have their own staples and classic feels but also don't stray too far from the tonality of the original songs that they are covering.

Again, these are like love letters to the original bands and songs, so they want to showcase how much they pay attention to the tones of things.

This is super important because again, not a lot of bands do that kind of thing.

If they pull off the changes super well, add their own little twists, layers of vocals come into play thickening the atmosphere, the bridges work perfectly, it all comes together amazingly and you can tell that they also paid a lot of attention to the arrangement of the song so that they stuck to the right formula and it all seems to go off without a hitch.

The guitar work is outstanding, putting in some great lead stuff that still sticks to that same sort of aesthetic but blends the classic Beast Parade attributes in there; the drums are slamming with ride and crash cymbals that just fill the space and make things huge, and the vocals have such a cool effect on them.

The vocal performance is done with the right kind of attitude and a hint of swagger that's needed. It's not a copy of the original vocal because Jack White has a very particular and unique voice, so what they did was utilize the idea of doing something different from their own style but also from Jack White's.

They managed to separate themselves from the styles of both bands and create something that felt unique in itself.

Anyway, the vocals have this great sort of echo effect, and it gives them that extra punch that they need.

What I find most impressive is how those vocals aren't sitting on top of everything.

If you listen to The White Stripes at all, you'll know that it's the guitar work that usually blasts you right in the face.

So, they stay true to that aspect as well, keeping the guitars on the forefront.

The vocals are not buried; they're just not the most prevalent factor. Those guitars are, and they did that on purpose because that's the right aesthetic for this particular brand of garage rock.

So, they really do pay so much attention to all these little things so that they are able to cover a song in a way that pays homage to the original on a tonal level.

I certainly haven't seen many bands do that.

With each of their covers, they impress me. These guys cover tracks that I know pretty damn well already, and I've never been let down.

For avid readers of this blog, you'll probably know that I have quite an affinity for rock duos in general.

There's something about how two people are able to create such a fat sound alone that blows me away.

I understand that when you're recording a record, you do overdubs and all that stuff, but still, this is such a good rendition of a song and one of the first I've heard that they've covered is also a rock duo.

Out of everything they've covered so far, this one fits the bill the best.

But don't just take my word for it, go listen to it. Remember where you heard this first.

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