Australian singer-songwriter Vera Blue recorded a stripped-back cover of Radiohead's Creep for triple j's Like A Version series, reducing the 1992 alternative rock song to three components: electric guitar, piano, and vocals.
According to Billboard, Blue built the performance from the lower end of her vocal range before ascending to a soaring falsetto at the chorus. Late in the performance, she introduced a device called The Pipe, a mouth-controlled dynamic effects processor and synthesizer made by SOMA Laboratory, which added an unusual textural layer to the arrangement.
Blue described what drew her to the song. She called Creep an "epic rock song" whose lyrics are also "heartbreaking," and said she was aiming for a "very haunting version" that still acknowledged Thom Yorke's original recording.
During the same studio session, she performed Maze, a track from her forthcoming album Modern Rituals. The album is due August 21 via Island Records and Universal Music Australia. Blue will launch a national Australian tour the same night, opening at the Princess Theatre in Brisbane and closing on August 28 at The Rechabite in Perth.
Born Celia Pavey, Blue first gained public attention as a folk artist and finalist on The Voice Australia. She adopted the Vera Blue name in 2016. Her 2017 debut album Perennial reached number six on the ARIA Albums Chart, driven by the double-platinum single Regular Touch. Her highest international chart placement came through a collaboration with fellow Australian producer Flume on Rushing Back, which reached number 12 on Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. Modern Rituals will be her third studio album under the Vera Blue name, following 2022's Mercurial.
