Oberhofer :: "Runaway" [Kanye West cover]

Bradley Oberhofer has a thing about leaving. On first break-though 2010 demo, "I Could Go", Oberhofer, yelped about the need for some kind of escape velocity, the kind of thing you imagine a 19-year old thinks about before they become a minor establishment on the New York indie rock circuit. With a full length debut out on Glassnote, Oberhofer now turns his attention to the haunting piano hooks of Kanye West's "Runaway". It is a predictably self-loathing affair, opening with high-fret guitars before finally settling into a falsetto chorus that could almost merge with a half-the-BPMs version of, "I Could Go". As the piano chimes against the grubby little guitars you can almost hear the brittle and fractious Oberhofer yelping out, "I could go ... away" against the real lyrics about "douche bags" and "assholes". At once faithful and playful, Oberhofer's version is gorgeous in spurts and ironic without cracking a smile. Either way, honest or not, he and Kanye are both certain about needing to get away from everyone, maybe even themselves.