The Olms self-titled release is an album I have been anticipated since I first read of its inception and coming attraction. Pete Yorn’s music has been a favorite of mine since his first album, musicforthemorningafter, and I have written about him numerous times here at lyriquediscorde; he is definitely a favorite around these parts. Part of that dedication may be why I seem to prefer the Pete led songs more than those fronted by J.D. King, though that is my initial reaction, and the opening track, On the Line, a very Beatles-circa-White Album sounding song, seems to be an exception. The album, as a whole, is very late 60’s, Hollywood Hills/Laurel Canyon, Summertime collection of songs and it fits right in with the beckoning hot weather and long days that push against the obligatory June gloom.
That’s not to say there is not gloom here, there is, interspersed in lyrical heartbreak about lovers who have gone away, or one’s that belong to someone else all-together. There are hopeful numbers, too. Songs about the persistence of love and of finding something, and someone, worth staying with ’til the end of our time. Most of the tracks, though, are about hopeless love and love lost, a feeling and meaning I think most of us can relate to.
My initial listen favorite is the destined to be a single, Summer romp of a song, Wanna Feel It. It is reminiscent of some of the tracks of the album that Jenny Lewis did a few years back, with Jonathan Rice, and it also reminds me of some of the tracks off the album Pete Yorn did with Scarlett Johansson, on their ode to the break-up album, Relator. This is one of those songs that just begs to be slid into a road trip playlist, and turned up high while the Pacific Coast breezes by out the driver’s side window. It makes me want to hop in the car and take PCH to the 101 alll the way to San Francisco, a trip I do hope to make this Summer. This is an all-around feel good song that is infectious and a real delight.
My second favorite, coming  in at an almost tie to Wanna Feel It, is A Bottle of Wine, Etc. This track is the one and only time that the pairing of Pete and J.D. seems like a true duet. I love the quirky take the song goes into at about the half way mark. I cannot help but think that it is the part of the song where the wine started to take effect on the two of them.
Pete led tracks, Another Daydream and Someone Else’s Girl are impossible to not fall for, and I can tell they will find a special place to land in my musical heart and stay there for a long time to come. These two tracks seem the most personal of the bunch and lay quite a melancholic punch while listening to the songwriting stories unfold. These are the two songs I relate to the most, and the two that hit in a “that will leave a mark” kind of way.
The last track, Only One Way, does not feel like a last track at all. There is something about the song that belongs at the start of the album, and I find myself starting with the last track and going from there with each repeated listen. This song reminds me of the Associations, and I am reminded of a live version of Never My Love that I have heard Pete Yorn perform in the past, a favorite song of mine, and a personal favorite cover, of the one’s he has done before.
Overall, I am enjoying this album and cannot wait to take it on the road. It is an album that needs to be heard while driving, and one that I foresee receiving the car concert treatment all through this Summertime.
Wanna Feel It
Someone Else’s Girl
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