Luna Keller – Wanderer

Luna Keller has released a wonderful new folk song, Wanderer and we were thrilled to hear it. A gentle and peaceful song about saying goodbyes and moving on. As a touring artist, one becomes an expert at saying goodbye to new friends all the time, and Luna has really captured that emotion perfectly.

This is the second song we’ve reviewed for Luna Keller and, like the previous (No Mans Land) this is a classy, uplifting self-reflection. I can’t wait to hear the full album.

There’s a beautiful folky feel to the guitar and a gentle smoothness in the vocals. I believe I compared the vocals to Lene Marlin last time, and I stand by that again. The background vocals and the added instrumentation (such as piano) are very subtle but they add so much to the overall track and really help to fill out the sound.

The harmony vocals are sublime. They sit well in the track, nicely behind the lead vocal and at no point are they dominating or overbearing. They have a Carter Family feel to them.

I love the line; “sing old songs, get the lyrics wrong and remember the good old days”. It really conjures up a scene around the campfire making friends and making memories. This is expert lyric writing.

From my own production perspective, the guitar is resonating just a little too much around E3. I suggest a very slight dip in the EQ to bring this into line. I’d also give a boost in the top 2 octaves for a little more air in the track, with an additional boost around 4kHz for some more presence and definition. A low end shelf boost will add a little more warmth to the track.

This is a beautifully recorded and well written song. The imagery within the lyrics is really evocative. Personally, I feel this is a prime candidate for a sync for TV. It feels just like the kind of gentle folk song you often hear in the background used by AMC.