Camera Obscura, "Tougher Than The Rest" (2009)
find it on The Sweetest Thing single

On first listen, this is a pretty straightforward cover of a beautiful song. Tracyanne Campbell's lilting Scottish accent replaces Bruce Springsteen's gruff twang, turning his gruff "don't know" into a sweet "doon't knoo", and the breathy reverb and brushed snare take the place of stiff 80's production, but otherwise, it seems to walk the line as a nice b-side.

There are two melodic choices that turn this into a song that demands repeats: at 1:08, the lift in the melody at "Romeo" (or in Campbell's case, 'Roomeoo'), and as the music cuts out to just bass, drums and vocals and at 2:51 when she pulls up the melody again for "well, I don't know, baby, maybe you've been around too". It's devastating, and it makes this a quick new addition to my favorite covers.