Chris DeLine

It’s not that King of Leons’ “Use Somebody” was a terrible song, or that Only By the Night was a completely unforgivable album (though to some degree it was), it’s just that for every enjoyable moment on the record, there was an equally awkward moment about someone’s sex being on fire, or the difficulties of lusting after underage girls. Add to that a level of production that gave the music a sound on par with the photoshopping of Maxim magazine, and you’ve got a collection of songs that was lacking of any real sense of personality or emotion.

If you were to strip all the static and unnecessary factors away from the music, it would be far easier to approach and digest. That’s exactly what has been done with this Bat For Lashes cover. With Natalie Khan’s version of “Use Somebody” there is no excess, every note is stripped to its foundation and her voice accentuates the emotion that was likely meant to be felt with the original track. The song is a beautiful reminder that upon occasion there is a good song lurking beneath even the most unbearable of exteriors.

[This post was first published by Culture Bully.]