Taking on music royalty is always a tricky thing. Taking on Sade however, is a whole different story. British band The 1975 are up to the task. The quad deliver an ambient and atmospheric rendition of Sade’s By Your Side. Lead singer Matt Healy’s voice drips with vocal effects. Vocal effects like auto tune aren’t something that should not work on a Sade cover, yet they sound amazing here. As a result the effects actually magnify Healy’s vocals and emotional delivery, rather than stifling them. The 1975 accomplish a feat here: bridging the gap from Sade to followers like Kanye West, and Bon Iver. Hearing this cover makes it impossible to deny the influence Sade continues to have on new and future generations of music.
Listen to The 1975 cover Sade’s By Your Side:
And in case you forgot (or live under a rock), bask in the perfection of the original version of Sade’s By Your Side: