“I wanted to write a song I could
sing to my fears.“
And that’s what we have in The Way Back, offered to us by folk artist Luke Beling. The energy is irresistibly enticing for me. Warm, folky acoustic guitar rhythms, gently excited percussion rolls on the drum kit, and humanizing touches of the piano all provide a hopeful ambiance for Beling’s inviting lead vocal work. I really feel like I’m listening to a letter, a piece of wise advice from a voice I trust. Or a group of wise voices. Beling chooses a layered group vocal delivery with just the right dose of reverb, evoking a sense of strength and communal wisdom.
“Time, they say, will heal, but only if you’re still…” Indeed. Such is the flavor of these simple, pithy proverbs strung together and painted into an infectious, folky landscape with brush strokes of Americana. It’ll just make you feel good. I wonder what I would write if I wanted to sing a song to my fears? Would it sound so hopeful, so reassuring, so soothing as The Way Back? Would it be folk, or would it be Screamo? I’d best just put this track on repeat and keep it at that.
It’s not surprising to hear that Beling has some traveling under his belt. Being raised on the Sunshine Coast in South Africa, he left home at age nineteen to travel the world. Maybe that’s what I hear in the work, the voice of human experience thoughtfully examined, funneled into an acoustic guitar and bubbling out of a piano, a drum kit, and the vocal chords of an authentic lover of music. I love it in its genuineness.
The Way Back (released September 24, 2021) is Luke Beling’s third single, following Carry (August 2021) and Time Knows (July 2021). A new release every month would be a nice, steady diet of awesomeness for any lover of folk. Looking forward to hearing what Beling will give us next.
