Yardan Drops New Single

In an age where singer/songwriters are once again starting to dominate in the pop scene as well as the insular underground circuit from which they start off, it can be rather difficult keeping up with the best and brightest new talent coming out of the woodwork.

Yardan seems more than aware of this in the new single “Buzzin’ Fly,” his official studio debut – and a cover of the one and only Tim Buckley – as his performance reflects a deep desire to be heard amidst a crowded talent pool. He doesn’t try and serenade us with a particularly sweet vocal, nor does he seek to present us with a model of “Buzzin’ Fly” similar to what we might have already heard before, from another artist or even Buckley himself. What Yardan gets up to in this single is a bit more subtle and progressive in tone, reimagining the narrative but not changing a single lyric, mostly through the way he marries harmony with verse beside a feminine counterpart easily as skillful as our main star is. This isn’t your average cover song, nor your typical rookie recording artist. 

There’s something rather bashful about the tempo at which the players are moving in “Buzzin’ Fly,” but I’m hesitant to say that anyone is dragging their feet; with the mandolin sizzling up the instrumental core of this performance, no one ever has the chance to get lazy. The arrangement demands a lot of focus out of every musician in the mix, and I get the impression that Yardan’s direction – while not necessarily being one that is outright demanding – creates an environment where everyone wants to engage in making something beautiful and melodic.

They truly are bringing out the best of one another when the chorus of this song sink through the speakers, and if you think I’m being generous with my statement, just take a peek at the fever pitch in “Buzzin’ Fly” to hear for yourself just how serious I am. Singer/songwriters with the kind of collaborative wit this one has tend to go far in a hurry, but I like that there’s no indication from Yardan himself that he’s interested in doing anything other than taking things nice and easy. 

If there is only one debut single that happens to be a cover you should listen to before the month is over, I recommend it be this one for a few reasons – chief among them the promising nature of this singer/songwriter’s voice. He’s a natural at the microphone, and when he’s leading the charge in this song, it’s almost as though he were the one that wrote it rather than Tim Buckley.

 Yardan puts his signature on this single, which alone is worthy of some discussion among the brightest minds in music journalism this winter, but what’s more, he presents his potential and what his melodicism could do in the right setting. There’s no stopping him in “Buzzin’ Fly,” and I commend everyone involved in this recording for their dedicated efforts in making a cover feel like a home run. 

Mindy McCall