B-Side Guys

In the vast sea of indie covers, it takes a truly special artist to make a song their own – to take a familiar melody and infuse it with new life, new meaning, new depth. And that’s exactly what Brianna Nelson has done with her stunning rendition of Bonnie Guitar’s “Dark Moon.”

Recorded in a single take through her iPhone, Nelson’s version strips away any pretense or polish, leaving only the raw, unvarnished emotion of her voice and the stark beauty of the song itself. It’s a bold choice, but one that pays off in spades. By eschewing the trappings of a traditional studio recording, Nelson has created something that feels incredibly intimate and immediate, like a secret whispered between friends in the dead of night.

Musically, Nelson’s “Dark Moon” is a masterful blend of folk, indie rock, and dream pop, with her haunting vocals floating over a landscape of shimmering guitars and ethereal atmospherics. The result is a sound that’s both timeless and utterly modern, evoking the ghostly, lo-fi brilliance of artists like Cat Power and Bonnie Prince Billy while still feeling entirely fresh and original.

But what really sets this cover apart is the way it taps into the song’s dark, melancholic core. “Dark Moon” has always been a song about longing and loss, about the ache of a love that’s slipped away. And in Nelson’s hands, those themes take on a new depth and resonance. Her voice, at once fragile and powerful, seems to channel all the pain and beauty of the human heart, transforming the song into a kind of secular hymn for the brokenhearted.

In the end, Brianna Nelson’s “Dark Moon” is more than just a great cover – it’s a testament to the enduring power of music to connect us, to help us make sense of our own emotions and experiences. By stripping the song down to its barest essentials and pouring her own heart and soul into every note, Nelson has created something truly special – a piece of art that feels both intensely personal and universally relatable. It’s a reminder that sometimes the simplest, most unvarnished expressions of our humanity can be the most profound, and that there’s magic to be found in even the most unlikely of places – even in a single take, captured on an iPhone, in the dark of the moon.