Skip to content
Premieres

Stream Yak’s Endearing (and Fuzzy) Cover of Karen Dalton’s ‘Something on Your Mind’

Yak

Greenwich Village folkie Karen Dalton’s 1971 ballad “Something on Your Mind” is certainly an unconventional choice of cover for a London-based trio of scuzz-rockers like Yak, who turn the gentle shuffle of the original into a narcotic crawl, with hissing drum machines, crackling guitars and smoked-out vocals. But the group’s rendition, described by singer Oli as “inspired by Suicide, Karen Dalton’s version of the song and an organ I’d just bought for 99p off the internet,” comes off as surprisingly charming, thanks to the group maintaining the melodic warmth of the original, and Oli imbuing lyrics like “Didn’t you know / You can’t make it without ever even trying?” with necessary earnestness. (Not to mention that any cover that takes the time for a whistle solo on the outro is automatically a winner.)

Listen to the Yak version below, and check out the trio’s new single “Hungry Heart,” the A-side to this cover’s B.