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Pop starlet Ellie Goulding first won me over with her fetching cover of Passion Pit’s “Sleepyhead,” with Starsmith at the production helm. It’s been something like three years since then, Ellie’s had her predicted rise to stardom and is presumably looking towards that sophomore release, which means it’s time for a new cover du jour. This time she partners up with another young and talented producer, the one and only Xaphoon Jones, and together they tackle The Weeknd‘s “High For This.”
For a lot of us that opening track to House of Balloons served as the auditory introduction to Abel Tesfaye, grinding synths and pained falsetto setting the immediate groundwork for the rest of that album. Xaphoon and Goulding take away the rough-edged darkness, instead opting for a hauntingly pretty take much more suited from the bright and devastatingly catchy singer. With just the right amount of restraint, it becomes a whole new song. Check it out over at Neon Gold, who snagged the premiere on this one.
