Sunday, March 13, 2011

Comedown Sunday: Wolf & I

Hat by Barbara Keal

Oh, Oh Land. This Danish chanteuse has it all, and seems destined to become an international star. At least, one would hope. She’s got all the prerequisites necessary: criminally good looks, catchy hooks, a great voice, and an upcoming album on Epic Records. But as we all know, the US popular market is a dark and twisted place. Perhaps Oh Land isn’t trashy enough? Perhaps it will work against her that she’s beautiful without showing skin, and writes her own music? I guess we’ll see in a week when her album is released. No matter what happens, she’ll remain a superstar in my eyes. If it’s anyone who has the “it” factor, it’s her. Her unique brand of whimsical electropop, accented by her adorable but subtle accent, is friendly and almost folkloric, but upbeat enough to hold its own against the MTV pop brigade. Winter’s blog hit Sun of a Gun evidenced what I’m talking about. Just try listening to it without getting it stuck in your head. Unfortunately it’s a little too upbeat for a Comedown Sunday song, which is why I’m featuring the just-as-great Wolf & I instead. Wolf & I, one of the slower numbers on her album, is about one of those unfulfilling relationships that aren’t really relationships, because you only see the person after sunset (I think we've all had one of those...). She compares her lover to a wolf, and herself to the moon, and while she romanticizes it, ultimately she knows that it isn’t the ideal situation. Throughout the song she uses vocalizations to—artfully—mimic wolf howls, and you feel her discontent echoed in the ‘ooh’s.’ Like everything Oh Land does, it's creative and yet unpretentious, serving to draw attention to her talent and yet remain completely relatable.

*Oh Land's debutself-titled LP comes out in 2 days (March 15)! With the album launch so close, the label has asked that I refrain from posting the mp3 for free download, and only include the Soundcloud stream instead. Buy the song/album here on Tuesday when it comes out.

Wolf & I by OhLand

Bonus:
Not Comedown Sunday-like at all, but as I’ve really slacked on the blog this week (sorry, I’ve been painfully busy), here’s an upbeat extra. Yuksek, who like Oh Land is also criminally attractive, did a funky remix of the aforementioned Sun of a Gun. Like everything else Yuksek does, it’s fantastic.

Sun Of a Gun (Yuksek Remix)--Oh Land


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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

GREAT blog. I feel you're right on par with the 'it' factor and her adorable but subtle accent. She's such a breath of fresh air!

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