Written by Stream the singer-songwriter’s frenetic reimagination of the Electriclarryland gem.
By Scott Bernstein Apr 17, 2026 • 10:11 am PDT
Out today from S.G. Goodman is a studio version of her “Pepper” cover. The Western Kentucky-bred singer-songwriter has won raves for her reimagined version of the song from the influential rock band Butthole Surfers’ 1996 album Electriclarryland since debuting the cover live last summer.
The best covers come when an artist infuses the song with their own distinctive style. Goodman’s “Pepper” brilliantly builds from a hypnotic groove into a barn-burning progression that swings. It’s no wonder the cover has become a live staple.
S.G. Goodman returns to the stage next weekend for an appearance at the Stagecoach festival in Indio, California. She has a series of dates planned over the coming months as she continues to tour in support of her year-old Planting The Seeds album.
Goodman shared a statement about the Pepper cover, noting:
“‘Being I was a young child when I first heard Pepper, I am certain that I loved the excuse to request a band where I could say “Butthole” without consequence. To be honest, it still brings me joy. The adult me understands that the lasting appeal of the Butthole Surfers would melt into my own work, simply because of their distinctive approach to making music that felt right to them. The only covers that excite me are ones where the outcome is evident of the original’s influence on the artist as a whole. My cover of “Pepper” feels like me and it feels like the same intrigue I experienced when hearing the original: to be left wondering what is actually going on here?”
Watch the visualizer for S.G. Goodman’s cover of Butthole Surfers’ “Pepper”:
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