Vanderwolf is a reminder that there’s still nothing like timeless craftsmanship. His new single, “The Path of Love,” is a living memory snatched out of the early 2000s, born on a lap steel guitar in London. The track is imbued with a rare kind of intimacy, one that only comes from years of contemplation, feeling and watching an artist who has walked through both silence and sound to arrive at his truth.
Recorded as a rough sketch with drummer and producer Chris Wyles at his studio in Camberwell, south London, “The Path of Love” sees that immediate raw energy of writing preserved in amber. The song’s texture is almost cinematic nostalgia yet irradiated with new light. Vanderwolf’s voice falls somewhere between fragile vulnerability and the wisdom of a sage, ushering listeners through lilting currents of melody that wrap around their ears in transcendent whispers.
There’s emotional honesty in every chord, the kind that makes “The Path of Love” feel like a long-lost letter to oneself. The wistful slides of the lap steel are reflections on life’s uncertain highways, and a steady yet unhurried rhythmic pulse serves as the song’s meditative heartbeat.
“The Path of Love” hangs around to keep its meaning chewing in the listener’s chest long after the last note. It’s a number that pays homage to where Vanderwolf has been and where he’s headed, a testament to the fact that sometimes, the most poignant stories are the ones that took years to be told. With its gentle warmth, loose organization and tender storytelling about rhythms on Earth and in the cosmos, “The Path of Love” is both a personal meditation and an extended invitation, to walk, listen and remember what love sounds like when it’s for real.
Connect with Vanderwolf: Instagram