Under Cover is a bit too plain of a title for what this 2022 EP delivers. Yes, it features
Valerie June recording her interpretations of eight of her favorite songs, a description that suggests something ordinary, which
Under Cover is not. Occasionally,
June sticks to an arrangement reminiscent of a specific recording -- her take on "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You," by some measure the happiest thing here, is in the vein of
Bob Dylan's jubilant original -- but she generally recasts these interpretations so they have a spacy, open-ended quality that falls somewhere between intimate folk and dream pop. In that regard, the opening salvo of
Nick Drake's "Pink Moon" and
Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You" do prepare a listener for what's to follow: they place
Under Cover firmly within the moonlit introspection tradition, a vibe that subsequent versions of
Gillian Welch's "Look at Miss Ohio" and
Nick Cave's "Into My Arms" maintain. What unifies the covers is
June's slightly idiosyncratic phrasing and earnest arrangements, elements that make
Under Cover as surprising as it is familiar. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
