Vera Blue has taken on one of alternative rock’s most enduring songs, covering Radiohead‘s “Creep” for triple j’s Like A Version.
The Australian singer-songwriter stripped the 1992 track back to three elements — electric guitar, piano and vocals — building from the lower end of her range into a soaring falsetto by the chorus. Late in the performance she deployed The Pipe, a mouth-controlled dynamic effects processor and synthesizer made by SOMA Laboratory, adding an eerie texture to the arrangement.
Blue said she was drawn to the song’s emotional core, describing “Creep” as an “epic rock song” whose lyrics are also “heartbreaking,” and aiming for a “very haunting version” that still nods to Thom Yorke’s original.
Blue also performed “Maze,” a track from her forthcoming album Modern Rituals, during her studio session. The album is due Friday, Aug. 21 via Island Records/Universal Music Australia, and Blue will support it with a national tour opening the same night at Brisbane’s Princess Theatre and running through Perth’s The Rechabite on Aug. 28.
Born Celia Pavey, Vera Blue first emerged as a folk artist and finalist on The Voice Australia before reinventing herself under the Vera Blue name in 2016. Her 2017 album Perennial reached No. 6 on the ARIA Albums Chart, powered by the double-platinum single “Regular Touch.” Her highest-profile chart success came via her collaboration with fellow Australian Flume on “Rushing Back,” which reached No. 12 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. Modern Rituals will be her third studio album as Vera Blue, following 2022’s Mercurial.
Vera Blue — Modern Rituals Australian Tour 2026
Aug. 21 — Brisbane — Princess Theatre
Aug. 22 — Sydney — City Recital Hall
Aug. 23 — Canberra — UC Refectory
Aug. 26 — Melbourne — Northcote Theatre
Aug. 27 — Adelaide — The Gov
Aug. 28 — Perth — The Rechabite
