luke arvid - arc

Luke Arvid

Arc
On Mars Imaging & Sound; 2014

3.7 out of 5

By Eva Cantillo

The courageous Luke Arvid brings us this triumphant 16-track album entitled Arc. Based out of Wisconsin, Arc is the first solo-production by Arvid and accents his recent musical adventures playing with other country-inspired bands. On this production, the talented solo artist gives listeners smooth vocals, guitar, keyboard and sounds from a digiharp. The music within this release can be categorized as instrumental folk music with a little country twang to spice it up at times.

Just overlooking the titles of the tracks within Arc, one can gather the genuine, raw, naturalness behind this collection of sounds. “Frozen River” is a slowed-down tune with a very soothing yet catchy chorus. “Frozen river carving my heart’s canyon, I know I’ve made a final mistake again.” This song is truly anchored by Arvid’s looming voice that rises and falls gently with the soft guitar chords.

There are also some purely acoustic tracks on the album, like “Late in Sea.” These kinds of songs are the ones that let your mind run at its own pace. A song with grit and passion is “Materialize,” it has the southern twang and gruff and makes me visualize a couple of vagrants running through the wild environment of the Appalachians, “it’s my time, before I show, before I grow so old.”

The song that shares the album’s title starts off with an almost electronic and very indie guitar chord and then before you know it dissipates into nothing. “Old Oak Tree” has a depth to it and the lyrics illustrate love, hope, optimism and love of the future and respect for the past; the song couldn’t be titled any better.

The sound of this album has a bit of an echo effect that is surely recognized at first, then while listening for a while, this effect fades and you feel as though you are actually watching Arvid sing and strum away right in front of you. It has a unique live, stereo-like sound quality to it that is unconventional. Overall, the album is a hearty listen and very appealing for anyone remotely interested in folk or mellow indie music.

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