Katie Malco – “Cloudbusting” (Kate Bush Cover)

Katie Malco – “Cloudbusting” (Kate Bush Cover)

Katie Malco isn’t scared. Last year, the British indie-rock singer-songwriter released her raw, trembling, impressive debut album Failures. Today, she’s taken on a classic song from another UK Katie. (Does anybody call Kate Bush “Katie”? It would be pretty cool if they did.)

“Cloudbusting” comes from Kate Bush’s canonical all-killer 1985 album Hounds Of Love. Bush wrote “Cloudbusting” about the relationship between Wilhelm Reich, the Austrian psychiatrist, and his young son, and it became a top-20 hit in the UK, setting off a wave of Reichmania. In recent years, Solange and the Staves have covered “Cloudbusting,” and now Malco has released her take on it, as well.

In her version, Katie Malco has replaced the tricky stop-start Fairlight rhythm of the original with a delicate, reverby combination of acoustic guitar and strings. She hits those Kate Bush high notes, which can’t be easy. Malco’s version is softer than the original, but it reaches toward much of the emotional grandeur. Below, check out Malco’s cover, as well as the video for the Kate Bush original, with Donald Sutherland as Wilhelm Reich.

Katie Malco’s “Cloudbusting” cover is out now on 6131.

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