Emma Swift, an Australian singer-songwriter who moved to the heart of Nashville’s country music scene, is the perfect artist to cover Bob Dylan. She’s very quickly made a mark in the alternative-country music world, and her latest release brings new traction to her creative capabilities as an artist.
On her cover of I Contain Multitudes, Emma Swift transports Bob Dylan to the ethereal. The song will feature on her upcoming Dylan covers record.
I Contain Multitudes is the lead single from her forthcoming Dylan covers album, released just weeks after the original. Dylan is set to release his first album in eight years this coming Friday (June 19th), and from what we’ve heard so far, it’s probably the best thing he’s done in years. Swift’s surrealistic interpretation is a step away from Dylan’s gravelly sound, heightened by her elegance and soothing vocal undertones.
Emma Swift has voiced how the reworked tracks for Blonde On the Tracks are some of her personal favourites from Dylan’s extensive back catalogue. They were recorded in tribute to the great poet, in light of Bob Dylan’s recent birthday. I Contain Multitudes is one of two tracks on the covers album that were recorded during the midst of the pandemic.
“I paint landscapes, and I paint nudes / I contain multitudes”, Emma Swift purs, scrambling away from the much hoarser Dylan.
The reimagined track was produced by multi-instrumentalist Patrick Sansone from Wilco. I Contain Multitudes also boasts talented guitar pickings from Robyn Hitchcock, the eccentric artist who once fronted The Soft Boys and magical character who’s maintained an enduring music relevance throughout his prolific career.
“I’m just like Anne Frank, like Indiana Jones / And them British bad boys, The Rolling Stones.”
Dylan’s forensic lyrical work coupled with Swift’s wispy emotional murmurations, gift the fresh release that extra transitory glow needed to elevate it to its atmospheric whole.
Recorded in Nashville “with love and care,” the eight-track compilation album is set for release on Tiny Ghost Records on August 14th. Emma Swift bases herself in Nashville these days but continues to frequently float between Sydney and Melbourne’s live music scene.
Pre-order Blonde On The Tracks here.
