3 Must-Hear Indie Rock Beach Boys Covers

Most remember The Beach Boys for their vocal harmonies, surfing, matching striped shirts, and clean-cut American image. However, beginning with Pet Sounds, Brian Wilson and his groundbreaking studio experiments eventually shaped everyone from The Beatles to indie rock.

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Surf rock began, like many things, in the garage. And garage rock later became punk, and these things shaped indie rock bands that were drawn to the noisier side of rock and roll. Wilson created masterpieces formed from breaking the limitations of recording technology in the 1960s. Limitations define the punk spirit. The Beach Boys became one of the most successful American pop acts, and ironically, also influenced the indie rock bands who rebelled against pop norms.

To see what happens when pop music meets the underground, check out these brilliant indie rock Beach Boys covers

“Little Honda” by Yo La Tengo

Music is subjective, so, of course, one shouldn’t name with certainty the best Beach Boys cover. But if you were tempted to do so, Yo La Tengo’s cover of “Little Honda” would be it. Brian Wilson and Mike Love wrote “Little Honda” and the “groovy little” original uses distorted guitars and garage rock in a nod to a small but mighty Honda motorcycle. But Yo La Tengo leaned further into Brian Wilson’s garage rock, increased the fuzz, and translated the song from sunny California to East Coast grit.

“Surfin’ U.S.A.” by The Jesus And Mary Chain

Fender amplifiers with built-in reverb were crucial to surf and garage rock in the 1960s. The reverb effect, along with a heavy dose of fuzz, also defined indie rock bands who looked to the early days of psychedelia for inspiration. The Jesus And Mary Chain emerged from Scotland and helped pioneer shoegaze with its noisy and lo-fi masterpiece, Psychocandy. Jim and William Reid covered “Surfin’ U.S.A.” in 1988, which appears on the group’s compilation album Barbed Wire Kisses. Don’t miss the blitzed-out surf rock guitar solo.

“I Know There’s An Answer” by Sonic Youth

In 1990, a collection of mostly underground artists recorded a tribute to Brian Wilson called Smiles, Vibes & Harmony. But Sonic Youth, the best-known band on the album, had ascended from the New York underground with the rise of alternative rock and released one of their defining albums, Goo, the same year. Sonic Youth covered “I Know There’s An Answer” from Pet Sounds, which you can now find on the deluxe edition of Goo. They replaced Wilson’s plunking organ with the wobbly guitars of Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore, who also share lead vocals.

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