A.V. Club Undercover

Deer Tick has offered up raucous cover songs in the past, even transforming from time to time into Deervana, a rip-roaring Nirvana cover band. For his trip to the little round room, though, Deer Tick mainman John McCauley chose Harvey Danger's out-of-nowhere 1998 hit "Flagpole Sitta." That song's origin is pretty interesting: Released independently on Harvey Danger's debut album, the song exploded into the mainstream, appearing on dozens of TV shows and movies and even Now That's What I Call... compilations. Deer Tick adds a little dirt to the proceedings. Enjoy.

When's the last time you gave the Violent Femmes self-titled 1983 album a listen? Its jittery, unstable songs hold up remarkably well--and not just the oft-covered soundtrack staple "Blister In The Sun." Here, the California-based punk band Ceremony offers up a faithful rendition of "Kiss Off," a.k.a. that one Femmes' song with the counting. Ceremony's latest album is Zoo; it's their first for Matador, and a continuation of the band's shift from punk-indebted to post-punk-indebted. Enjoy.

We've had such fine performances from other acoustic acts this year that it seemed like a safe bet to invite The Wood Brothers into the round room. The band--which features Chris Wood of Medeski, Martin & Wood--chose one of the toughest songs on the list, too: Michael Jackson's "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)." (Fun fact: "P.Y.T." was the sixth single from Thriller, an album that only has nine songs.) Instead of the full dance treatment, The Wood Brothers broke it down to guitar, bass, and "shit-tar," which is a guitar modified for use as a percussion instrument. There may also be cameos, so stick around. The Wood Brothers' latest album is Live Volume One: Sky High. Enjoy.

We shouldn't have been surprised to be surprised by Liturgy. The "transcendental black-metal" duo creates massive, hypnotic sheets of sound informed by classical music as well as early black metal. We assumed that would mean the loudest Undercover yet, but Hunter Hunt-Hendrix informed us upon arrival that he wanted to perform Shellac's unstoppable "Prayer To God" a cappella. As you'll see, he builds the song up from scratch with vocal loops, creating something absolutely hypnotic. (And Shellac fans who were worried that a band would come in without an appreciation for the original shouldn't have been: Hunt-Hendrix says it's one of his favorite songs.) For some insight into Hunt-Hendrix's philosophy of metal, click to read his manifesto (of sorts). Or just check out Liturgy's Aesthetica, which came out last year on Thrill Jockey, or see the band live at the following shows, many of which double as Thrill Jockey anniversary concerts. Take a deep breath and enjoy.

There was some concern when making the 2012 Undercover list that Lana Del Rey would have slipped entirely from the public consciousness by the time someone performed her song "Blue Jeans." The world was all a-titter about her lifeless Saturday Night Live performance way back in January, with defenders and haters bravely stepping forward on the Internet to talk about it. But here we are, with her record having topped the charts in a bunch of countries and a supercharged re-release due later this year. Then there was the business of actually covering "Blue Jeans," a song that in its original form actually buries its own hook in atmosphere and attitude. But two-thirds of Brooklyn trio Jukebox The Ghost stripped Lana down even further, tackling most of the song with just voice and piano. It's plenty faithful, though, and might even give the Del Rey haters something to consider. Jukebox The Ghost's latest album is Safe Travels. Enjoy.

Calexico is the only band that can claim its song was played on the last Space Shuttle mission: Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords dedicated the band's "Slowness" to her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly. It was just the latest in a long line of quiet accomplishments by the Arizona band, which stirs traditional Southwestern sounds with the mild side of indie-rock. Here, Calexico grabs hold of Kenny Loggins' classic of cheesy wonder, "Danger Zone." The track was actually written by disco kingpin Giorgio Moroder (with lyrics by Tom Whitlock), though Loggins made it his own via the soundtrack to Top Gun. Calexico adds some layers and removes some excess, pulling something pretty out of a very '80s pop song. Calexico's latest is the fantastic, solemn Algiers.

The Promise Ring formed in Milwaukee in the mid-'90s and quickly found itself at the center of a scene—emo—that it didn't really belong in. For a hot minute, the band was on fire, and 1997's Nothing Feels Good is widely (and rightfully) considered a classic. But as the genre moved toward teenage screamers, The Promise Ring leaned toward more contemplative pop, culminating with 2002's Wood/Water, a pretty and quiet record that didn't quite fit the fashion. After the band split in 2002, drummer Dan Didier and singer Davey von Bohlen went on to form Maritime, whose songs you've heard time and again as the intro/outro music for A.V. Undercover and Pop Pilgrims. The Promise Ring reunited earlier this year and played some fiery festival and club shows. For Undercover, the band chose a song with a pretty high degree of difficulty—Adele's smash hit "Rumour Has It." They gathered a coterie of helpers to pack the round room and bring the song to life with spunky, punky energy. Enjoy.

Field Report frontman Chris Porterfield cut his teeth in the band DeYarmond Edison, whose members have gone on to form Bon Iver (yup, Justin Vernon) and the slightly less massive Megafaun. Porterfield wasn't a songwriter in his old band, but he mustered up some tunes over the last few years and just released his new band's self-titled album. It's a fantastic, downbeat collection that Bon Iver fans should find something to love in. Though the record just came out, Field Report has already toured with Counting Crows and Aimee Mann, among others. The song they're covering is "Chicago" by Sufjan Stevens, another lone troubadour who likes to bolster his live sound with lots of able musicians. Field Report added some aggression (just a little) and wiggly synth sounds for this rendition. Though it's airing second-to-last, the band didn't actually have a choice. (Long story, I'll explain next week--the last Undercover of this series, and the last EVER in the little round room!)

It's the final Undercover session ever in the little round room—we're moving down the street soon—and what better way to send us off than with a bone-shaking performance by those beloved scumdogs of the universe in GWAR. The final song is "Carry On Wayward Son," the big ol' 1976 smash hit by Kansas that still lives a healthy life on classic-rock radio today. It was one of the first songs to make this year's list, and we couldn't have dreamed that it would be performed by huge, angry aliens. (And you wouldn't believe the bands that were attached to cover it at one point or another throughout the year...) We were of course delighted that GWAR would not only grace us with their presence, but also choose the little round room as the public debut of new lead guitarist Pustulus Maximus. We are quite sure you'll enjoy this, and perhaps stop accusing us of only allowing puny indie bands into our office.