Click to listen to Sister Crayon's 'Futile Devices'

Time on tour led Sacramento-based quartet Sister Crayon to cover Sufjan Stevens' "Futile Devices." Frontwoman Terra Lopez played the track on repeat so much that she decided the band needed to play and record their own gentle, melodic version of the song. "I just think that this song is brilliant, and it's such an intimate piece," Lopez says. "The lyrics on the entire record by Sufjan are genius, but this song just hit home in a lot of ways. We wanted to cover songs that have affected us – that have moved us, and this song by Sufjan is probably one of my favorites of the year."

The versatile track is also a recording milestone for Sister Crayon. "This is actually our first song that we have recorded together as a band by ourselves," Lopez says. "We recorded it in our kitchen over the course of an afternoon."

Sister Crayon's cover of "Futile Devices" is available for free exclusive download here.

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Star Trek' Is Crazy Good
• 
  TV 10 Shows to Watch This Summer
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories