Phantogram Drop Underwhelming Radiohead Cover for First 2017 Like A Version

The duo behind one of last year’s most stupidly catchy bangers You Don’t Get Me High Anymore, Phantogram have opened triple j’s new year of Like A Version with an underwhelming take on Radiohead’s Weird Fishes/Arpeggi off their 2007 album ‘In Rainbows’.

The American pair of Josh Carter (bass) and Sarah Barthel took a somewhat minimalistic approach to the Radiohead track, choosing to not recreate the multitude of layers in the song along with slowing the tempo just a fraction.

In the country for appearances at festivals Soutbound, Beyond The Valley, and Field Day, Carter told new triple j breakfast hosts Ben and Liam, “A big part of how [Radiohead] influence us… is that they’re one of those bands that just don’t have a box you can put them in”.

Carter also said he’s finished working on a new tune with legendary guitarist Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine, due to be released sometime this year.

Even though Barthel sung her heart out and their session guitarist was solid, the cover failed to grow and effectively transition between the song’s romantic opening and the closing brooding soupy post-rock mix.

Radiohead are naturally a touch bipolar in their approach to songwriting, so Phantogram were always going to bite off more than they could chew covering the song with any synthesisers and without the intent of completely re-envisaging the original.

Like A Version isn’t off to a flying start in 2017, so do what we’re doing and smack Matt & Alex’s celebratory mashup cover Kiss From A Rose on repeat and pray the new triple j breakfast team can become just a legendary.