The first song I listened to by Boston-based six-piece folk-rock band Tales of Olde was their cover of Justin Timberlake’s ode to being high on love, “Pusher Love Girl,” the leadoff track to the first of his 20/20 Experience albums released last year, and arguably the most soulful and old-school sounding song on that album. I love the idea of an indie folk-rock band covering a Timberlake song, and Tales of Olde’s version does not disappoint. Watching the video, you realize two things: one, this is indeed a band, and two, it is comprised of some very talented singers and musicians. The video has been viewed over 51,000 times on YouTube; you can check it out below. The original song is an eight minute long behemoth, but it’s been condensed to a quickly watchable two-minute forty-second video by Tales of Olde. I must admit, I would not be disheartened if a cover of the full version appears at some point in the future.
The band, who is currently recording, is set to release their debut EP in the next month or two, and on their Bandcamp page they’ve posted two teaser songs to whet your appetite. They call the teasers a “softer side” of their sound, but while both songs do start out gently enough, they build into foot-tapping, just-shy-of-bombastic conclusions. “This Place,” a meditation on home, the earth, and the simple blessing of being alive is filled with pastoral imagery and eventually rollicks its way to a la-la-laden ending. “Little Bird” is a rumination on the simple pleasure of listening to a bird’s song and imagining the stories behind it. It all stands for something larger, as the song ends in a chorus of voices pleading to the now departed creature, “Sing to me bird,” which seems to symbolize the loss of something intangible yet important, and still utterly desirable. Both songs are solid both musically and vocally, with refreshingly understated lead vocals that subtly rise in volume only when the harmonies call for it. If these tunes are any indication, one of Tales of Olde’s themes is: Life can be difficult, but it’s largely to be celebrated.
Made up of two married couples—Lucas (lead vocals) and Evelyn (background vocals) Cortazio, and Ellen (fiddle) and Drew (guitar) Story—who met in 2011, and keepers of the beat Jeff Kinsey (bass) and Al Cleveland (drums) who came on last year, Tales of Olde are ready to release their songs to the world. Drawing on influences as varied as the aforementioned soul-pop of Justin Timberlake to the folksy harmonies of Of Monsters and Men and even the anthemic rock of Kings of Leon, I’m excited to see what they come up with. Keep checking their website and/or social media pages to keep track of when their forthcoming debut will be released, and enjoy “This Place” and “Little Bird” below.