Former Vampire Weekend member Rostam Batmanglij delivered a nimble cover of Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” during an appearance on Sirius XMU.
The stripped-down performance featured just vocals and piano, but found Batmanglij – who releases music under the name Rostam – capturing the most playful elements of Dylan’s 1965 classic. He moved through “Like a Rolling Stone” at a steady pace sprinkled with a few ramshackle moments, while he also shifted expertly between sing-song vocals, speaking the lyrics and even imbuing his voice with a bit of Dylan’s quintessential reedy croak.
Batmanglij announced his amicable departure from Vampire Weekend in 2016. That same year, he released a collaborative album with the Walkmen’s Hamilton Leithauser, I Had a Dream That You Were Mine, while in September, Rostam released his debut solo album, Half-Light. He’ll embark on a North American tour in support of the record January 29th at the Earl in Atlanta, Georgia.
Batmanglij has also worked extensively as a producer in recent years, collaborating with Frank Ocean, Solange, Carly Rae Jepsen, Haim and more.
