Iseult’s Emily Cahill shares a cover of Ricky Nelson hit “Lonesome Town”

When she’s not picking up the bass for The Morelings, Emily Cahill records solo music as Iseult. Sometimes it’s surfy, mod pop like last year’s “The Mysterious Mr. Pumpkin,” and other times it’s haunting, minimalist covers of downcast 50s hits.

Originally made famous by Ozzie & Harriet offspring Ricky Nelson, Cahill’s beautifully lo-fi take on “Lonesome Town” keeps the heartache but trades in the brooding acoustic guitar in for a ringing, distant electric model. Her breathy, Marilyn Monroe-esque vocals double down on the theme of doomed love, calling to mind any number of tragic affairs from Don’t Bother to Knock to A Place In the Sun.

Stream Cahill’s “Lonesome Town” below followed by Nelson’s version.