‘There are many Bob Dylans but there's only one Lou Reed’

In 2020, Emma Swift’s album of Bob Dylan covers, Blonde on the Tracks, brought her widespread acclaim and a new audience. In the midst of making an album of Lou Reed covers, she talks to State of Sound about searching for the real Lou, and what it was like trying on his leather pants.

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The Remaking of Nick Drake

The new box set The Making of Five Leaves Left illuminates a focused and forthright artist at his genesis, and further undermines the idea he was an isolated, haunted romantic.

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Yankee Hotel Fox Dropped

The story of Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot became a parable 25 years ago. Will The Golden Dregs’ Godspeed soon provide another? 

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STATE OF SOUND

The New Independent Voice of Music

THE 1970s COUNTERCULTURE

Rupert Bear with a huge penis: how the Oz magazine obscenity trial inspired the Bookshop Band

The Oz magazine obscenity trial of 1971 sent shockwaves across Britain. 60 years later, The Bookshop Band’s Ben Please tells us how it inspired their new EP.

THE BEATLES

‘Please Please Me’: How the Beatles sang about sex and got away with it

The Beatles could only break America by conforming to its prudish sexual attitudes. But did Lennon and McCartney have the last laugh?

Paul Simon’s greatest solo albums, ranked!

FEATURES

7 ALBUMS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE

7 albums that changed my life with Balloon

Balloon’s Ian Bickerton on being compared to Kate Bush, how Iggy Pop and James Williamson soundtracked his youth and Van Morrison scored his life.

11 April 2026

MAKING A MASTERPIECE

‘It took a unique kind of courage’: how Son House beat the odds to make a masterpiece

FEATURE

‘An outpouring of love’: The micro record labels fighting back against AI

THE BIG IDEA

How Taylor Swift can save the music industry

RANKING

Bob Dylan's greatest love songs, ranked!

ALL FEATURES

WATCH STATE OF SOUND TV

The Smiths, The Stone Roses and The La’s: 7 guitar riffs that changed my life with Shapes Like People

Watch Shapes Like People’s Carl Mann play the riffs that changed his life. Inspired by everybody from John Squire to Johnny Marr, Carl explains the secret behind a classic riff and why simplicity is always best.

14 March 2026

REVIEWS

NEW RELEASE

The Former Site Of

The New Pornographers

This is a really enjoyable and at points captivating album, if a little beaten down by the world.

27 March 2026

Robyn Hitchcock at the EartH theatre in London.

Wasted on Youth

The Molotovs

The Resurrection Game

Emma Swift

All is Love and Pain in the Mouse Parade

Of Monsters and Men

The Demise of Planet X

Sleaford Mods

ALL REVIEWS

LISTEN NOW

Listen to The Strokes’ new single 'Going Shopping'

‘Going Shopping’ is the first single from the band’s seventh album Reality Awaits, due 26 June

11 April 2026

STATE OF SOUND

The New Independent Voice of Music

Founded by writer David Rea, State of Sound cuts through the noise with incisive music journalism, providing an analogue voice in a digital world. Free of advertising to ensure a frictionless reading experience, we cast an independent eye across a wide range of genres and eras, publishing everything from in-depth essays on legacy artists to informed reviews of the latest releases. SUBSCRIBE HERE

Photo: James Edmond / Alamy Stock Photo

‘There are many Bob Dylans but there's only one Lou Reed’

The Remaking of Nick Drake

Yankee Hotel Fox Dropped

EDITOR’S PICKS

REVIEWS

STATE OF SOUND

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