‘One of the best versions of it I’ve heard’: Finneas delivers heartbreaking rendition of Radiohead’s Fake Plastic Trees for BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge

FINNEAS – Fake Plastic Trees (Radiohead cover) at the Live Lounge – YouTube
FINNEAS - Fake Plastic Trees (Radiohead cover) at the Live Lounge - YouTube

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Earlier this month, Finneas O’Connell, better known as the older brother, producer and co-writer of Billie Eilish, released his second studio album, For Cryin’ Out Loud!

Since then, O’Connell has been busy promoting the record, stopping by BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge to perform Lotus Eater from the album’s highlight and, as is Live Lounge tradition, offering a cover of his choice. O’Connell chose to take on Radiohead’s Fake Plastic Trees, a haunting, spare track taken from the band’s 1995 album The Bends.

In his equally somber rendition, O’Connell swapped out Thom Yorke’s acoustic guitar for an upright piano, bringing in a guitar towards the end of the performance to give the chorus an extra boost. Tackling Yorke’s tricky falsetto passages with admirable gusto, his vocals nevertheless prompted a number of comparisons to Coldplay’s Chris Martin in the comments. “One of the best versions of this I’ve heard,” said commenter @majorlybad.

Viewers also praised O’Connell’s decision to sing without Auto-Tune: “No miming or pitch correction,” said @rome8180. “Refreshing. You can tell there’s no pitch correction because some of the high falsetto notes are a bit flat. And guess what? It’s good. It doesn’t diminish the emotional impact. If anything, it’s better because you can feel it humanity and you know it’s actually happening live.”

While O’Connell is busy promoting her latest project and preparing for a string of international shows, her sister Billie is in the midst of her Hit Me Hard And Soft tour, the first to see her perform without her co-writer and producer. Despite O’Connell’s absence, Eilish told the Los Angeles Times that Finneas will join her “as his schedule allows” and that the pair will continue to collaborate in the future. “It’s not really the end of anything,” he said. “You can’t be in two places at once.”

This is not the first time Fake Plastic Trees has been covered on BBC Radio 1; in 2020, Phoebe Bridgers and Arlo Parks joined forces for a version of the song in the same vein, also centered around the piano.

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