VOYAGR / Tobias & the Pyre
We do not know enough about Billie Eilish to lie and say that we’re fans– our extent of Eilish trivia only goes so far as knowing that she wore a Taylor Hawkins t-shirt as a means of paying tribute to him after he’d left this world. So when we heard VOYAGR’s cover of “Lovely,” we were A) unaware that it was a cover and B) blown away by their phenomenal performance. If you have yet to hear of them, this folky pop trio comes from New York and though they had initially submitted an original tune of theirs called “Oh Brother,” which is also completely worth your time, we opted to feature their most recent release on the blog. We are under the assumption that they have taken “Lovely” and made it their own because it starts much the same as many heartfelt indie-folk joints, with a solitary acoustic guitar gently strumming for a couple of bars before the vocals come in and sweep you off of your feet– and singer Rachel Ball does a lovely job at softly spoon feeding you some lyrics before her bandmate AJ Jabaji joins in with those glorious harmonies, resulting in the type of pins and needles that last for days on end. But VOYAGR are not done with you quite yet– the song is a slow and grand crescendo, building over its course, with drummer John Morano letting you know he’s here with some tastefully placed percussion. At the 2:26 mark comes the goldmine of a full sonic production that pushes your headphones beyond what the headphone company led you believe they could reproduce. This song is so well done that you will be bummed when you see that they’ve only released three singles to date, so give them a follow on Instagram in order to see when the next will be arriving as you take this gem for a spin:
While we’re on the subject of heartfelt indie-folk music, we would really like to take this opportunity to introduce you to the solo project led by Tobias Östlund known as Tobias & the Pyre. Although we are unable to confirm his current whereabouts, we do know that he began his musical journey in Gälve, Sweden. He has recently released his debut EP, Transatlantic Hope, the host to four soulful and acoustically driven tracks, one of which is the reason for this post: “Winter is Cold.” Tobias has one of those warm and friendly vocal styles that sounds like it is coated in life experience, leaving you to hang on every word as though it is the gospel. All of this you will see from the first handful of measures in “Winter is Cold,” before the drums and steel guitar quickly seal the deal. As you might have learned by now, we drop everything for majestic vocal harmonies, so when the chorus kicks in at 1:22, you will understand why we’re waving this track all up in your faces. As you recover from the refrain, there is a tasteful guitar lead that delivers you straight back into the next verse. The song is obviously a metaphor because while winter is, indeed, cold, the lyrics paint the images of longing and indifference with lines like: “Waited for nothing to never come around again…” Though we have only been gushing about “Winter is Cold,” we sincerely hope that you find the time to spin the other three tracks on Transatlantic Hope because each one of them is bound to nestle its way into your hearts and playlists.
-TM