[COVER ME] Iress Makes Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For” Turn Doomgaze

Iress is a metal, alt, and indie collective self-described as “dark, sexy, heavy music.” The LA group’s latest release is a doomgaze cover of Billie Eilish’s Oscar-winning Barbie song “What Was I Made For.”

Whereas Eilish’s original is plaintive with its bare-bones, poignant piano, and plainspoken vocals, Iress has recreated the song to be undulating, murky, and alluring. First comes the bed of sound: A meditative, noir soundscape. Heavy, distorted guitars and a slightly slower tempo indicate that this down-tempo alternative sound is about to crescendo. The vocals are full of depth and soul and are slightly turned down in the mix. Somehow, the introspective lyrics pair perfectly with the genre-swap. Note the subtle lyric change: “Don’t tell my girlfriend…what was I made for?”

Lead singer Michelle Malley said:

“The band has been wanting to do a cover song for years now. We knew we wanted to transform a pop song and make it our own. We all pitched ideas regularly, even demoed a few but nothing stuck, until…Billie. This became how we would refer to What Was I Made For which truly came together seamlessly. The song & vocal performance is already so powerful and delicate, we wanted to keep that essence with our version as well. We surprised our fans & performed it live at our Album Release Show last year and the reaction felt euphoric. We continued to include Billie in our set on tour in the UK and it became apparent that we had to record it when we got back home. Hopefully, BILLIE EILISH & our fans appreciate what we’ve created because we love it.”