34th & Now

Lissie meet Gaga. Gaga meet Lissie.

Lissie’s cover of Bad Romance is one of my absolute favorite covers of the past few years. Despite being a newcomer to the alt-rock/folk-rock scene, Lissie manages to pack an extraordinary vocal range, a bluesy folk guitar sound, and more than just a little Kurt Cobain into her rendition.

Hailed by Paste Magazine as a “Best of What’s Next” artist for 2010, Lissie has had quite the busy year: she released her Cuckoo EP (featuring this cover), performed at this year’s SXSW festival, and just put out her first full-length album this past June. Barely three months after it’s debut, Lissie is already drawing comparisons to musical powerhouses like Stevie Nicks and Neko Case and is, as one reviewer put it, “breath[ing] new life into the alt-rocker chick scene.”