Tones And I (aka Toni Watson) has become the fourth artist to cover Gang Of Youths for triple j’s Like A Version series, putting an ethereal spin on their deep cut ‘Achilles Come Down’.
It was the Australian pop star’s second appearance on the segment, following her cover of ‘Forever Young’ by Alphaville in 2019 (Milky Chance also covered her smash-hit ‘Dance Monkey’ back in 2020). For her take on ‘Achilles’, Watson performed alongside a drummer, synthesist, marimbist and pianist, as well as a five-piece string section and 37-member orchestra.
In an interview accompanying the cover, Watson explained that she chose to cover the song before she’d even listened to it in its entirety. “I struggled to find many songs that really resonated [with me] and were [by] Aussies,” she said, “so I started looking through Gang Of Youths’ songs. And after I’d already sent this song off and decided to cover it, I then saw that it went for seven minutes and had more lyrics than probably any song I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Have a look at Watson’s cover – as well as the full post-performance interview – below:
‘Achilles Come Down’ was initially featured on Gang Of Youths’ second album, 2017’s ‘Go Farther In Lightness’. Also featured on the album are the songs ‘What Can I Do If The Fire Goes Out?’ and ‘The Deepest Sighs, The Frankest Shadows’, both of which have also been covered for Like A Version – the former by Nothing But Thieves in 2018, and the latter by Gretta Ray last July. Their song ‘Magnolia’, too, was covered by Odette in 2018.
As is typical for the segment, Watson’s performance also included one of her own songs. She swung for her latest single, ‘Charlie’, which arrived back in August and is expected to appear on her forthcoming second album. Have a look at her performance of that song – also accompanied by the choir, but not the string section – below:
Gang Of Youths also covered a song for Like A Version earlier this year, putting their spin on ‘Why Does It Always Rain On Me?’ by Travis.
Meanwhile, Watson’s third album is scheduled to arrive sometime in the new year. Prior to releasing ‘Charlie’, she linked up with Macklemore for ‘Chant’ back in July, and dropped the solo track ‘Eyes Don’t Lie’ in March.