‘Creep’ is by no means an easy song to cover. A notoriously challenging vocal performance that’s devastatingly raw to begin with, with intense emotion demands, and that’s not to mention the instrumental impact of Radiohead’s fresh, young, cathartic energy. ‘Creep’ is like the recipe everyone feels tempted to tackle, yet very few manage to scrape the goodness of the real thing.
From the Beginning of Natalie Jean’s cover, it becomes clear that the energy Jean and Noshir Mody are bringing are unlikely to have been heard before on ‘Creep’. With Jean’s clear vocal prowess demonstrated early on, we are comforted that Yorke’s carnal yells are in safe hands, and the intricate, colorful, and jazzy guitar voicings by Mody introduce alien tonalities that further help the song’s message along. This cover also takes its good time to build, introducing the beat in time for the song’s second half, amplifying the build with ethereal, swelling strings to help with the time stretching.
A fiercely individual and nuanced song to cover, The Kensington, Pennsylvania native did an outstanding job in putting her unique spin on ‘Creep’. Jean’s vocal talents alongside Mody’s warmly desolate jazz guitar musings make for an exceptional take on one of alternative rock’s longest enduring songs. Accompanied by Brian Sargent, a Berklee graduate producer, mixing engineer, and multi-instrumentalist with 25 years of experience, we are left with an astounding version of the 90s timeless loneliness classic.
