Yola, Odd, and the Arcadian Wild
YOLA
I first heard Yola when I stumbled across her cover of Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” on Spotify. I was absolutely blown away and immediately added the rest of her albums to my playlist. She is an immensely talented and versatile artist who effortlessly moves between folk, bluegrass, pop, soul, and even disco. Her voice alone is reason enough to listen but her talent as a songwriter and composer makes her a musician of the highest tier. There are times you could swear you’re listening to a classic pop song from the 70’s, complete with groovy bass lines and catchy hooks (indeed her backup band on her NPR Tiny Desk Concert video looks like they escaped from an Allman Brothers look-alike contest). Needless to say, her songs have been in constant rotation ever since I discovered her and I simply cannot recommend her highly enough.
Suggested Songs:
- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
- Love Is Light
- Diamond Studded Shoes
- Stand For Myself
ODD NORDSTOGA
Odd popped up as a suggested artist in my Spotify queue one day. I don’t always pay attention to this section, but this day I was feeling *ahem* adventurous and decided to give him a try. This is what I discovered: he is charming, he is adorable, and he doesn’t speak a word of English. Odd Nordstoga is a Norwegian folk singer who is very popular in his home country and who might otherwise never be heard of outside of it without the wonder of globalized technology. You don’t have to understand Norwegian to appreciate his music, but if you get really curious you can always copy/paste his lyrics into Google Translate. I did this one day with one of my favorite songs of his, ‘Vandringsvise’. It starts out as a quirky little tune but builds into an epic final verse that lifts my heart with joy every time I hear it. My delight with the song grew even greater, however, when I finally discovered what it was that Odd was singing about with such jubilation: his love of hiking.
Suggested Songs:
- “Vandringsvise”
- “Fatig Ferdamann”
- “Ein Song Til”
- “Angelica”
THE ARCADIAN WILD
If you haven’t realized it by now, I’m sort of a folk/Americana/bluegrass fan. It all started when I fell in love with the band Nickel Creek way back in the year 2000 (and whom I still dearly love). When they decided to go on to separate careers sometime after their third album, I was heartbroken. No one sounded like they did. Oh, there were other great folk/bluegrass artists I enjoyed a great deal, but none with their particular tone and character. As it turned out, I just had to wait ten years for them to be reincarnated into the Arcadian Wild. It’s not hard to see the similarities: fresh-faced youths toting a guitar, bass, fiddle, and mandolin, singing songs with witty, heartfelt lyrics, beautiful harmonies, and intricate instrumental solos. But the Arcadian Wild is more than just a carbon copy, or they could not have taken the special place in my heart that they have. They are their own entity, with infectious hope and earnestness, as well as a greater willingness to tread into much deeper subject matters of the heart and soul. They are the real deal, and deserve all the recognition that can possibly come their way.
Suggested Songs:
- “Hey, Runner!”
- “Wander. Wonder.”
- “Letters from the Atlantic”
- “Carry on Wayward Son”