South London’s Etta Marcus channels grief, reverence, and quiet devotion in “Wolf River,” a sparse, haunting tribute to Jeff Buckley. Released as a standalone single, the track strips everything back to piano, bass, and Marcus’ aching vocals – a eulogy in song that lingers long after it fades.
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Stream: “Wolf River” – Etta Marcus
There are songs that feel like whispers to the living, and then there are songs that feel like they’re written for ghosts.
“Wolf River,” the latest single from South London’s Etta Marcus, belongs firmly to the latter. It’s a track steeped in mourning and quiet devotion – a piece that feels less like a performance and more like a eulogy. There’s grief here, certainly, but also reverence: A commitment to holding someone’s music and memory close, even when words alone can’t capture the depth of that love. In a world where legacy often fades as quickly as the next viral moment, “Wolf River” is a reminder of the power in keeping those who shaped us alive – not just for ourselves, but for the next generation discovering them for the first time. But how much can we dwell on someone’s legacy before it becomes a kind of parasocial devotion? Where is the line between honoring and holding on?
Happy birthday Scottie
Years pass through you like the wind
I’m at Wolf River, waiting
I know it’s over, still I cling
With love, from Memphis
Nothing but dust
And you’re signing off
Tomorrow will leave us
With a whole lot of love
A whole lot of love
Etta Marcus, a rising alt-pop force from Brixton, South London, has never shied away from emotional rawness. Classically trained in jazz before being expelled from Trinity Laban Conservatoire, Marcus leaned into her own voice and vision, eventually crafting her debut album The Death of Summer and Other Promises in January 2024. Her music lives in that shadowy space between indie melancholy and cinematic grandeur, often drawing comparisons to Fiona Apple and Mazzy Star. Released on May 29, 2025, as a standalone single, “Wolf River” is Marcus’ most intimate work yet – a tribute to the late Jeff Buckley, one of her biggest muses, and a quiet declaration that his influence still courses through her art.
Sonically, “Wolf River” is as sparse as it is striking.
Built around a soft, almost skeletal piano line with subtle bass touches, the track lets Marcus’ haunting vocals lead every moment. Her voice doesn’t just carry the song; it feels like the song, bending and echoing like a confession whispered in an empty chapel. The piano doesn’t overpower but rather shadows her like a companion, mirroring the song’s thematic intimacy. There’s a fragility here, as if we’re overhearing something private – a conversation not meant for us, but one we can’t stop listening to.
I miss your blues
I miss your rock and roll tunes
That guitar was made for loving you
My hero gone, the greatest I mourn
My world is nothing without your song
With love, from Memphis
Nothing but dust
And you’re signing off
Tomorrow will leave us
With a whole lot of love
A whole lot of love
The lyrics deepen that intimacy, blurring the line between mourning and devotion. “My world is nothing without your song,” Marcus sings, the ache in her voice carrying the weight of both gratitude and absence. Later, she confesses, “I’m at Wolf River, waiting // I know it’s over, still I cling,” evoking Buckley’s final moments while revealing her own inability to let go.
There’s a tension running through every word: This is as much a tribute as it is a refusal to move on, a love letter to someone whose art feels too vital to relegate to the past. The song becomes more than a memorial – it’s a living thread that ties Marcus’ present to Buckley’s enduring shadow.
For anyone who’s lost someone – whether a person they knew, or an artist whose work shaped them – “Wolf River” feels like a lifeline.
It taps into that universal ache of keeping someone alive through action, through words, through song. For Marcus, it’s a way of acknowledging not just her grief but the gratitude that accompanies it, the understanding that even the people we’ve never met can hold a piece of our hearts. For listeners, it’s an invitation: To sit with grief, to find comfort in remembering, and to recognize that we’re not alone in wanting to hold on. This is the song you play when you’re at your lowest, when you need someone – even a stranger singing about another stranger – to remind you that grief can bind as much as it breaks.
“I wrote ‘Wolf River’ during a difficult year,” Marcus explains. “Jeff made me remember why I write, why I perform, why we need idols – why a mournful declaration of affection for a stranger changed the way I see the world and my place in it.” That sentiment captures everything the song embodies: The beauty of tethering ourselves to those who shaped us, even when they’re gone. It’s a tragic love letter, yes, but also a celebration of the ties that make us human.
If you’re a fan of Lana Del Rey or Ethel Cain, “Wolf River” will destroy you in the best way. And maybe that’s the point – sometimes we need to be broken open to remember why music, and memory, matter so much.
A wholе lot of love, singing
A whole lot of love
For you
A whole lot of love, singing
A whole lot of love
For you
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Stream: “Wolf River” – Etta Marcus
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