Not just anyone can cover Nirvana and do it successfully. On her latest single, CHELLA proves that she’s the exception.
Nirvana’s Heart Shaped Box holds a special place for many ’90s kids and rock lovers. Known for its acidic riffs and dark spaces, the track was a seminal addition to the band’s legacy, quickly gaining the same revere as their defining singles. On her latest release, CHELLA spins the Nirvana classic into a lush, symphonic rock masterpiece.
Trading gritty undertones with glossy shades, it’s a cover that holds its cards against the original.
Opening with faded tones and reverb-washed riffs, CHELLA’s Heart Shaped Box holds nothing back. It doesn’t try to copy the original, it celebrates it. Unravelling a sonic that is heavy but also deeply lush, the artist allows herself the freedom to both refrain, sitting with her rich musicality, and also ignite into unchained choruses.
It’s artistic passion at its finest, the exact reason why Nirvana’s popularity still lives on till this day. Their music exists in the raw, unbounded energy of youth; one that burns, sparks, and flickers through life. CHELLA captures this so poetically.
“Heart Shaped Box. A beautiful song, created by the band, Nirvana, that I am so drawn too,” the artist writes. “I think there is something about Nirvana that just sets your soul on fire, and for me that’s what it was. The band fuelled a passion in me for rock music; music that is just so raw, emotional, energetic, powerful and beautiful at the same time. That is what music should be, at least for me, and that is how I aim my music to be. By recreating Heart Shaped Box, it is a thank you to Nirvana.”
The distortion of grunge blended with the elegance of melancholy: it’s what defines both Nirvana and CHELLA. In the case of the latter artist, however, passion is ignited through symphonies of melody and tone is littered over gardens of sonic. Her cover of Heart Shaped Box is the immaculate final product.
Check out the stellar track below:
