ANN MARIE NACCHIO - Nothing Compares 2 U

The tradition of cover songs as recontextualization of the original artist’s work has been kept up for multiple generations. Jimi Hendrix charged a Bob Dylan song with the spirit of disillusionment during the Vietnam War in the United States in his rendition of “All Along the Watchtower.” Johnny Cash filled Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt' ' with the pain and anxiety that comes with approaching mortality. And, in the wake of Sinead O’Connor’s death at the young age of 56, her “Nothing Compares 2 U '' has been reimagined as a tribute and a eulogy by Ann Marie Nacchio and Adam Tilzer. With a distinctly electronic and ambient influence resembling such greats like LCD Soundsystem, Tilzer and Nacchio add a distinctly mournful and teary-eyed tone to the work that honors the legacy of one of the most challenging and provocative singers in alternative music history.

Although their voices are light and airy, the two singers combine to make an ethereal and ghostly sound, one that contrasts heavily with the choppy synths that drive through the song. Making this all the more heartbreaking is that its atmosphere was recontextualized with the death of O’Connor- the song had already been somewhat finished before the singer’s passing. With this rendition, however, Ann Marie Nacchio and Adam Tilzer provide a touching and moving tribute by way of an outstanding cover of an alternative pop classic.

Catch "Nothing Compares 2 U" on Spotify: