Holler!
Oh Land’s “Wolf and I” (click here to watch her perform the track) is yet another song that you can add to your Haunted Halloween Mix. It’s not outright scary, though; rather, it’s a beautiful love song. I don’t know if I’ve seen lyrics that are more poetic then these. Just listen to the first verse:
Before the world you know was like it is /
I held a lover once and I was his /
And we walked along the river in the sun /
But he’s a lonely man, so this was done /
The only place we had to meet was night /
While the sun he sleeps in shadows we can hide /
On the mountainside we spent our time together /
But it is gone when morning comes
Oh Land ‘s birth name is Nanna Oland Favricius. As you can see, her stage moniker plays on her middle name. She’s a Dane (yet ANOTHER Scandinavian) who danced for about ten years until she suffered an injury that effectively ended her career as a ballerina. In order to cope, she began making music and was eventually signed to Fake Diamond Records, an indie label in Denmark, which released her debut, Fauna. Eventually, she was signed to Epic Records, a division of Sony, which has released her self-titled sophomore effort. This album features “Wolf and I,” as well as many other intricate indie-pop tracks, like “Son of a Gun” (click here to listen) and “White Nights" (click here to listen).
I love that Oh Land is a visual artist. Her fashion and performance art contribute to the overall power of her music. If you watch her performance of “Wolf and I” (click here to view), you can see she uses stunning visual elements, such as white balloons that light up to show wolves’ faces! It might sound creepy, but once you check it out, you’ll be able to appreciate her attention to detail. Also, her body moves in such a visceral way. Her emotions are 100% real, NOT from concentrate.
This is the perfect track for a rainy afternoon. (I should make a rainy day mix that also includes Mr. Little Jeans’ cover of Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs” – click here to read our review of that track.) It truly twinkles. Enjoy!
Unapologetically,
Gregory
