Too often artists will cover a song, especially a classic, just to ride the coattails of something better than them. Too often the attempt is merely an artist aping the original. The steadfast rule should be, if you’re gonna do it, make it yours or let it be. JESIKA VON RABBIT has done just that with her take on the R.E.M. classic “Drive”. She boldly rejected the original’s southern gothic premise, and lifted it into an ethereal space of yearning and loss.
R.E.M. leaned into a gorgeous detached profundity, encouraging a sense of self efficacy, a quiet fist raised defiantly in the air. Yet, von Rabbit’s version carries it out of the physical world completely, capturing a state of loss, longing, even hopelessness, that has been omnipresent the past several years. It feels less like a song unfolding and more like an intimate whisper from someone who broke your heart a long time ago.
“I love many of their songs, but “Drive” has such a lonely haunted feel and I wanted to do something even more sparse with it, she explains. “I’m a big R.E.M. fan, I grew up listening to them and feel they’re a bit underrated. Not to say they don’t have a huge fan base, but you don’t hear them being referenced that much anymore.”
Minimalistic and sparse, she opens with a heavily gated reverb piano, there yet afar. Her vocals are at once urgent and questioning, knowing she isn’t going to get any answers from the siren calling from afar, who are more a lonely echo than a catechism.
The bridge is typical von Rabbit, a luminous interlude of sparkling harpsichord, so bizarrely out of place that it fits perfectly. Lee Joseph’s understated guitar work strums earnestly beneath, bringing just enough scaffolding to keep the piece from drifting away entirely.
Von Rabbit’s version of “Drive” is a beautiful apparition, a rush of windswept Mojave stardust, heard in passing, already fading as she arrives. The single follows up her 2025 album, Bunnywood Babylon.
Performance & Production Credits:
| Keys, harpsichord, vocals – Jesika von Rabbit |
| Acoustic guitar, bass- Lee Joseph Recorded at Rabbit Ranch. Joshua Tree Mastered by Pat Kearns at Goat Mountain Recording Studio, Joshua Tree |
see JESIKA VON RABBIT live:
04/25 Yucca Valley CA @ Mojave Gold w/ Alien Probe
05/08 Jerome AZ @ Spirit Room w/ CHKLZ
05/09 Prescott AZ @ Fairweather Social Club w/ CHKLZ
05/10 Phoenix AZ @ Thunderbird Lounge w/ CHKLZ
05/21 Newport Beach CA @ Poorman’s Summer Kickoff
05/30 Riverside CA @ Riverside Pride
06/05 Las Vegas NV @ Dustland
06/11 Los Angeles CA @ The Virgil
Formerly the frontwoman and chief songwriter of the trailblazing and iconic Joshua Tree act Gram Rabbit, JESIKA VON RABBIT has released severa’ critically lauded solo albums, Journey Mitchell,Dessert Rock, and Bunnywood Babylon, released worldwide on June 13, 2025 (Dionysus Records).
Jesika von Rabbit recently won “Best Female Vocalist” and “Best Song” at the Joshua Tree Voice Music Award Show. This is in addition to “Best Female Performer” multiple years in-a-row at the Coachella Valley Weekly Awards.
Jesika von Rabbit has toured with the Eagles of Death Metal, and has performed at the Desert Daze festival, Camper van Beethoven’s Campout festival, Joshua Tree Music Festival, Stoned and Dusted festival, Tiki Oasis, The Casbah stage at the Adams Ave Street Fair in San Diego, as well as San Francisco, Portland, and Palm Springs Pride. She has shared stages with acts as diverse as Wanda Jackson, Cat Power, The Melvins, The Crystal Method, and Sister Sledge.
Jesika von Rabbit’s original compositions have been licensed to Fox’s The Masked Singer for a commercial spot, CSI, NBC’s Life, FX’s Better Things, The Real World, Sons of Anarchy, Crash, Hit & Miss, Crazy Stupid Love and War Inc., Grace and Frankie, a commercial spot for Fruit of the Loom which aired during the 2012 Summer Olympics, and Morgan Freeman’s film 57 Seconds.
Dubbed “The Queen of the Hi-Desert,” Jesika von Rabbit is the torchbearer of the ever-vibrant Joshua Tree/Hi-Desert music scene.
visit Jesika von Rabbit online:
Website: https://www.jesikavonrabbit.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jesikavonrabbitmusic/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jesikavonrabbit/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jesikavonrabbit
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9poN3qsqCJThTxWdEyio_A
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/228m37gn65MbaI86rMIEfM?si=AtfTVAUdSM2kUDBMUUAQ_g
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