Eli Waltz - “Howl”

Washington D.C.-based Eli Waltz returns to the blog with his stripped-back, nostalgic craft via the freshly cut “Howl.”

Pressing play invites an extremely raw production into your ears, with the diaphanous sounds of an acoustic guitar that is so intimately displayed, you’ll swear you’re receiving a private performance in your living room or car or wherever else you might find yourself listening to “Howl.” Waltz’s vocal follows suit, allowing his authentic and gritty storytelling to take the helm of this otherwise extremely sparsely recorded number.

A glorious highlight here is the vibrato in Waltz’s upper register, which delivers an emotional intensity that is not easy to find while we sift through our submissions. And as you may recall, the honesty in his vocal is one of the reasons we first fell in love with his sound. A string arrangement emerges, prompting Hannah Wyatt’s delicate vocal harmony, another artist who’s managed to win us over with her genuine folksy talent.

Together, their voices make for an illustrious trek though the peaks and valleys of existence, with lyrics that traverse a nostalgic coming-of-age tale. Ear candy is provided by some carefully placed banjo and dobro, rounding out the soundscape and adding a sense of urgency between vibrant lines of lyrics. If raw, stripped-back folk tunes are your jam, you truly do not want to miss out on “Howl.”

-HD