The music of Odetta Hartman is fueled by creation, no matter the outcome, and Old Rockhounds Never Die is a wellspring of genuine freak-folk experimentation. Spiraling banjos and country pianos could turn into short, tuneful folk ballads, or they succinctly end as sweet vignettes that playfully tinker with sound. This sophomore album proves that the way Hartman deconstructed home-spun atmosphere on her debut was more than just a phase; it’s a fully integrated accent in her music that unravels throughout each song. Field recordings of oceans and trains are malleably crafted, intertwining with the more “authentic” sounds to instill a trans-generational voice to her songwriting. The shorter instrumentals on Rockhounds often feel like ideas that could bud into their own unique genres, blending hip-hop and noise, almost flaunting the number of potential ideas each song hides. This playfulness doesn’t attempt to hide the raw sentiment of Hartman’s lyrics; sorrow and rage and sensuality feel quite genuine against this idiosyncratic backdrop. Old Rockhounds Never Die finds reverie when it digs its talons into sonic territories that bleed together, and each composition is a grove of ideas begging to be explored. –Tucker Pennington

NYC chanteuse Odetta Hartman is more experimental than most, and in an endearing way, as demonstrated in the music video for her song "Dreamcatchers." It's a compilation of home videos of Hartman as a little girl, doing various things such as playing the violin, swimming, and hitting a piñata, but the video is edited to move with the music, with a hazy, acid-trip-like manner. The songs on her last record 222 are short, sweet vignettes, led by banjo and textural vocals, infused with pentatonic guitars and experimental strings. Odetta Hartman will play at SXSW at the Townsend on 3/17. -Geena Kloeppel

It is rare to stumble upon emerging artists who have the ability to convey intensity and emotion with only their voices and a few instruments - NYC/DC chanteuse Odetta Hartman possesses this skill. Inspired by old-timey country and anything rootsy, Odetta alternatively injects doses of tension, mystery and - always - oozes of character in anything she performs. With her latest original release (the 222 EP) dating back to 2015, we are owed some new material. In the meantime, you can see her live at Rough Trade on 10.14.

We added this song to The Deli's playlist of Best NYCrootsy songs by emerging NYC artists - check it out!

We are not entirely sure why, but the name "Odetta" fired up jazzy expectations the instant we stumbled upon it. Those expectation were not betrayed by East Village native Odetta Hartman's music, a heterogeneous brand of orchestral folk, enriched by jazzy influences. The 25 year old lady can play pretty much any instrument with strings on it, from guitar to banjo to violin, and after three releases with band, is about to release he first strictly solo album, entitled "222." She recently premiered first single "Creektime" (streaming), which reveals a sparser and more succint approach to songwriting, but also a more experimental and intense sound, incorporating samples from field recordings, and shifting her melodic angle from the distracting melodies of jazz to the simpler but more intense ones of its cousin blues. You can see Odettal live at Baby's All Right on March 29th.

We added this song to The Deli's playlist of Best roots songs by emerging NYC artists - check it out!