Today's Song: The Tender & Poignant Heartache of Victoria Dodson's "Homesick"

A breath of fresh, tender folk simmers in the sweet summer air as 17-year-old Victoria Dodson’s song “Homesick” gently glides into our purview.

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Stream: “Homesick” – Victoria Dodson

A breath of fresh, tender folk simmers in the sweet summer air as Victoria Dodson’s sophomore single gently glides into our purview. An intimate and vulnerable confessional, “Homesick” is a tender folk song full of emotion and vivid imagery that captures a poignant circle of love and loss.

It’s a long way from home, I’ve never felt so alone
And I don’t expect you to understand, but
There are things that I miss more than you

I don’t mean to say that I don’t miss the way
You’d smile at me when we were young
But now, that’s changed and so have you
You were home, but now I don’t know you

Independently released July 28, 2021, “Homesick” (and its companion song, “Opaline”) followed July 8th’s “Like You” as singer/songwriter Victoria Dodson’s second single release. Based in Laval, Quebec and originally hailing from Milton, West Virginia, 17-year-old Dodson wears her heart on her sleeve and in her voice as she channels deep emotions and moving sentiments in her art.

“Homesick” finds Dodson at a particularly raw space, charting a course from lovesick to love loss as she realizes the person she was in love with has grown, and is no longer the same person she fell for.

“But now, that’s changed and so have you,” Dodson sings, soft guitars filling the surrounding space around her shiver-inducing vocal performance. “You were home, but now I don’t know you. You were home to me… Never thought I’d be homesick for you.“

You were home to me
Never thought I’d be
Homesick for you
Homesick for you

“This song is actually the first one I’ve ever written without having lyrics readily available,” Dodson tells Atwood Magazine. “I improved it all as I built the instrumental, and it came out as a much more vulnerable and unique song this way. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised! Like all of my music this was done in my “home studio” (my bedroom…) This song is really about falling in love with someone, starting to feel unhappy and not knowing why, then coming to terms with realizing that it’s because they’ve changed so much that they’re just, not at all the person you fell in love with anymore. Feeling homesick for a person is incredibly painful and I wanted to build it into a sound, so I did!”

Inspired by everyone from Lord Huron and Billie Eilish to The Beatles, Queen, and Daft Punk, Victoria Dodson makes multi-layered folk (or “indie folk”) that shimmers, dynamic and reserved, emotive and impassioned. She says her creative process is “to pick a sensation, or emotion, and to try to put it in words and music the best I can,” with the goal to “create music that people like me can relate to and feel seen.”

Connection to a song like “Homesick” is visceral and instantaneous. Dodson’s second release spends three immersive minutes spilling the pains and depths of her heart; her performance is simple, honest, and stunning. Get lost in the folds of her heartache with “Homesick,” and stay tuned for more from this exciting new artist!

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