Although Emil & Friends‘ “Crystal Ball” was the only song of theirs to make it onto our Top Tracks of 2011 list, there were a number of others off the band’s last full-length, Lo & Behold, that were strong contenders. The album’s lasting impression comes thanks to Emil Hewitt’s — the creative force behind the project — off-kilter, technical approach to writing true pop music. Hewitt’s style shines in his cover of Neon Indian’s “Polish Girl.” Borrowing a little bit from Kavinsky, the Emil & Friends rework of the Era Extraña cut brings down the tempo, scatters quirky synths throughout, and drops a much-welcome 80s guitar riff in the bridge. Download the track below.

MP3: Emil & Friends – “Polish Girl (Neon Indian Cover)”

Considering how the proliferation of Lana Del Rey and Avicii sampling has officially surpassed the global population growth rate, it’s surprising more artists haven’t had their way with one of 2011′s most popular songs, M83′s “Midnight City.” But if one group could give such a sacred track the respect it deserves, it’s The Knocks–and they’ve proven themselves yet again with this cover, featuring vocals from the lovely Mandy Lee. If M83′s anthem captured the anxious insecurity of 2011, The Knocks have brought it into the new year with the glimmer of upbeat optimism 2012 continues to deliver. The video proves that Lee is as stunning as her voice would suggest—check it out and grab the MP3 below.

MP3: The Knocks (ft. Mandy Lee) – “Midnight City (M83 Cover)”

St. Vincent’s Annie Clark performance at Bowery Ballroom last Saturday once again proved two very important things:

1. That the intense girl crush I have on her is 100% warranted.

2. She is great at doing covers.

This show marked the final stop on the Portlandia Tour—a “unique six city tour bringing the romanticized and dreamy rendering of Portland” presented by Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein—and lived up to promises that no two nights of the circuit would be alike. The tour featured the likes of Sam and Spencer Tweedy, Tavi Gevinson, and Mekons’ Sally Timms (via BV), but on Saturday night, Clark nailed the event’s tone with a rendition of Pearl Jam’s epic 90s power ballad “Black”—a fitting reference to the city’s grunge tradition as well as Eddie Vedder’s role in the first episode of Portlandia’s second season. Donning her best baritone and requesting that he audience not “fucking make me sing this all alone,” Clark rocked the tribute and did more than her fair share to support the Tour’s goal to “bring Portland to life for fans across the country.”

As an added bonus, check out a cover of “Sleep All Summer,” a Crooked Fingers original that Clark and The National took on recently.

STREAM: St. Vincent & The National – “Sleep All Summer (Crooked Fingers Cover)”

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from our buddies ANR. If the Huffington Post is to be trusted, the guys have been busy scoring an operatic version of 2 Live Crew’s “Pop That Coochie” for the Sundance-bound short film “Life and Freaky Times of Uncle Luke”. While we’re praying that is accurate and we have a trace of video evidence – we have bona fide proof that they’ve been busy with this recently recorded Neon Gold TV session. The session features two tracks. The first is their single “It’s Around You” in traditional ANR rampage fashion. The second, and more surprising song, is a sultry cover of “Millionaire” by Kelis featuring Andre 3000. Get fuzzy with it and melt into your mulled wine.

ANR will be DJing the ATG + BYT New Years Eve extravaganza along with Animal Collective (Avey Tare, Geologist), JD Samson from Le Tigre / MEN, Lightwaves and many more. It will sell out. Grab your tickets HERE.

MP3: ANR – “Millionaire (Kelis Cover)”

In a live session for BBC Radio 1 last February, James Blake took a break from his warped electronic modus operandi and stunned the music world with a soulful rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You.” The track has since garnered all sorts of critical acclaim and found a place for itself in the classic covers hall of fame, a position cemented by the striking new video accompaniment. Shot in London last week and directed by film-maker Seb Edwards, the visual consists of actress Rebecca Hall (best known for her roles in The Prestige, Vicky, Cristina Barcelona, and Frost/Nixon) in a dramatically-lit bedroom pantomiming the gamut of intense relationship-related emotions. Hall’s heartrending performance is simple enough to shine in its own right without overwhelming the original achingly beautiful poetry and cover vocals, preserving and complementing the power of each. Watch it below.

“A Case of You” is now available on Blake’s Enough Thunder EP and the deluxe edition of his self-titled debut, both via Atlas.

MP3: James Blake – “A Case Of You”

Jasmine Van den Bogaerde–a.k.a. Birdy–is only 15 years old. Yes, you read that right, she’s F-I-F-teen. So while I was playing Halo through a homemade network setup (it’s as bad as it sounds), Birdy is releasing an album of remakes including acclaimed versions of Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love” and The xx’s “Shelter”. Her latest is a slowed-down version of Phoenix’s electro-pop anthem “1901”. It features Bogaerde on the piano, a taste of acoustic guitar, and her stunning voice. The remake highlights her ability to deftly change the tone and volume with her tremendous range, giving the song the unique character we have come to expect from the young Brit.

STREAM: Birdy – “1901 (Phoenix Cover)”

What else is there to say about SALEM covering the trance ‘classic’ that is Alice Deejay’s ‘Better Off Alone’ and putting their witch house touch on the track. The video features paparazzi footage of Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen. Prepare yourself for a full-blown seizure. Watch for SALEM’s new four track EP, I’m Still in the Night, dropping November 22nd on IAMSOUND. SALEM’s first album, King Night, was one of my favorites of last year so I’m muy excited about this release.

Peter Katis is the production mastermind behind The National’s flawless 2007 album, Boxer, and he contributed some production to 2010′s High Violet. Even casual readers of ATG are aware of my unending obsession with the inventively glum quintet, which in turn makes me a big fan of Katis. Turns out, Matt Berninger and co. are even bigger fans, dedicating Boxer‘s album cover to Katis (the above photo is of the band performing “The Geese of Beverly Road” at Katis’ wedding). Recently, the band took that admiration one step further, covering the song “Twenty Miles to NH Part 2,” a song originally played by Katis’ band The Philistines Jr..

The result is everything you’ve come to expect from a National song, and then some.

STREAM: The National – “Twenty Miles to NH Part 2 (The Philistines Jr. Cover)”

Indie pop darling duo Tennis are back (sort of) with a cover of The Zombies’ 1964 hit “Tell Her No.” The Denver-based couple also announced share some details about their new album with Gorilla vs. Bear:

“We’ve spent the last several months writing and preparing for what we hope will keep us busy all winter. We will be announcing a Forest Family release in the next couple of weeks as well as tour dates to make up for the Vaccines tour cancellations. Also, we are excited to announce the existence of our next album (produced by our new friend Patrick Carney) coming out early next year. In the meantime, we made this cover of the Zombies “Tell Her No.” It’s been a long time favorite of ours and is the best use of a lone-clap we’ve ever heard.”

2011 best-of lists better look out.

STREAM: Tennis – “Tell Her No (The Zombies Cover)”

I know what you’re thinking, because I thought it too: Smashing Pumpkins? Really Emma? What is this, 1995? Actually, it’s “1979,” and it’s not just the Smashing Pumpkins, it’s RAC’s amazing remix of the classic track. To celebrate hitting 10k fans on Facebook, RAC, who’s been known to remix just about everything, takes the Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness single, introduces some beautiful vocals from his wife, Liz Anjos, and gives the Pumpkins an indie-age tribute worthy of their 90s sound that you know (come on, admit it) you love.

MP3: RAC – “1979 (Smashing Pumpkins Cover ft. Liz Anjos)”