Fontaines D.C. Combine Bring Me the Horizon and Nirvana for ‘Like a Version’ Cover

Fontaines D.C. have paid tribute to both Bring Me the Horizon and Nirvana during a recent cover performance.

The Irish rockers unveiled their cover of Bring Me the Horizon’s 2013 single “Can You Feel My Heart” as part of an appearance on Like a Version, the long-running covers segment from Australian radio station triple j.

The performance was recorded earlier in the month, during the band’s recent tour of Australia, though it was broadcast on the morning of Friday, March 21 (Australia time). Though triple j have long presented the covers as being live, Fontaines D.C. vocalist Grian Chatten told fans on Monday (March 17) the band were forced to cancel a run of shows in Mexico and Latin America after he suffered a herniated disc which left him unable to perform. 

As is standard for Like a Version, Fontaines D.C.’s  appearance launched with a rendition of an original, with the band tearing through 2024’s “Starburster” before debuting their Bring Me the Horizon tribute. Though officially billed as a rendition of “Can You Feel My Heart,” the performance shifts focus after the first chorus and sees Chatten instead singing the lyrics to Nirvana’s 1993 single “Heart-Shaped Box.”

“I think the sound of that song, the electronic elements, and just the general vibe of it kind of reflects stuff that we were touching on our last album, Romance,” explained guitarist Conor Curley in a post-performance interview. 

“It kind of seemed like a good place to start, and it’s a moody, beautiful song. I always get a little a bit nostalgic about that band just because it reminds me of reading and crying as a teenager and stuff like that, so I’ve always kind of kept tabs on them.”

“‘Heart-Shaped Box’ is an absolute classic,” he added in reference to Nirvana’s appearance in the performance. “Grian just started singing it when we were getting the sounds, and it was almost kind of like, ‘Do we switch it to that and use the instrumentation?’ So, it kind of just made sense.”

Notably, it’s not the first time that Fontaines D.C. have been the focus of the Like a Version studio in recent months. In February, Porter Robinson used his appearance on the segment to cover the band’s 2024 single “Favourite.”

“’Favourite’ was, no pun intended, one of my favorite songs of the last year,” Robinson said after the fact. “It was the song that made me a fan of Fontaines D.C. I just love it. I love major-key music. I love music that’s extremely catchy and extremely hooky. And I love the way that this song feels like it’s constantly tumbling forward.”

Having first launched in 2004, the Like a Version series has gone from being a near-impromptu acoustic affair to featuring larger studio productions. Numerous artists have taken part over the past two decades, with the likes of Billie Eilish, Childish Gambino, Arctic Monkeys, and more reinventing classic tracks in the process.

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