Though it’s been a relatively short time since the van-dwelling Olive Klug (they/them) has fully pursued the life of a touring musician, their DIY career has resulted in huge followings with over 20 million Spotify streams, nearly 200,000 TikTok followers, and 100,000+ Instagram followers. Self-described as “someone who floats on the breeze, letting the wind take me wherever I’m meant to be,” Klug’s sophomore album and label debut Lost Dog finds them contemplating this propensity for adventure no matter which avenue of love and loss it leads down.
Gentle at the start, album opener “Taking Punches From the Breeze” gets its title from Klug’s self-described nature of “letting the wind take them wherever they’re meant to be.” As more instrumentation fills in alongside fingerpicked guitar and Klug’s soft croon, a shuffling drum beat arrives under lyrical imagery of life’s new direction and the ups and downs of being beholden to the breeze.
Deemed by Klug as “the happiest song you’ll ever hear about unrequited love,” “What to Make of Me” is a “zydeco-inspired romp” so full of life and self-assuredness that there’s hardly room to dwell on anything remotely devastating. Pure unshakeable confidence clocking in at just under three minutes, this tune is much like the short-term romance that inspired it with the added benefit of being able to listen on repeat.
“No one is their best self in the first few weeks following a big breakup,” explains Klug. “And the song ‘Cold War’ demonstrates how this manifests in our modern world.” Poignant and precise, the stark recording of guitar, bass, haunting strings and vocals accentuate a very twenty-something realization on ended relationships and the proclivity to stalk the internet thereafter:
“The cold war has begun
Of who can prove that they’re having the most fun,
Through tiny screens and Spotify streams
Trying to prove to the other that we won”
“The song shows us parts of ourselves we might not always be proud of,” says Klug. “But can undeniably relate to.”
A “take on Paul Simon’s wordy magical chaos,” “Train of Thought” is an experimentation into the world of abstract metaphors compared to Klug’s usual literal storytelling style. On the surface the fun and frolic of wordplay and rhythm are countered by the personal meaning to Klug, and letting the listener in to what it’s like to be neurodivergent and how they have “recently embraced the internal chaos instead of trying so hard to control and repress it.” Additionally, lines like “and they try to button up my suit and tie in an attempt to hold me back but I’m this strange old conductor wearing pearls and a backwards baseball cap” highlight how their “nontraditional gender presentation is intrinsically linked to this neurodivergence and desire to resist societal pressures.”
The “fast-paced folk punk anthem” “Opposite Action” creatively puts Klug’s “under-utilized psychology B.A” to use – taking a therapeutic concept for a song name and putting its practice of encouraging “patients to do the opposite of what their emotions are telling them to do” in the chorus. Frustrated after applying these methods and not attaining immediate results during a depressive episode in the summer of 2023, Klug’s stream of consciousness style verses offer emotional release and the recognition that getting older and more responsible can feel like an inner-battle when the old patterns want to “give into the worst of me sometimes.”
Slowing down the tempo, “Lost Dog” is a melancholic examination of lifestyle choices. “It’s about watching your peers settle down into serious relationships and buy houses and wonder if you made the right decision to choose freedom and independence,” says Klug. “It’s about learning that the other side of the freedom/independence coin is often instability and loneliness.” Klug carefully acknowledges that their career can be captivating to many as “a wanderer’s lifestyle,”but others’ admiration can quickly turn to contempt as they age – a feeling expressed through the track’s titular metaphor in the chorus.
Revisiting the same break up depicted in “Cold War,” the minimalist ballad of “One Dimension” harnesses the healing power of hindsight. “With more time to process,” explains Klug. “It’s much easier to come to terms with the nuance in a relationship and recognize that the anger and vengeance that first arise after a breakup are often a coping skill for processing the real sadness and loss of cutting ties with someone you were once vulnerable enough to share your life with.”
Already serving as a special moment in Klug’s live set, Lost Dog ends with the enchanting and existential “Fleeting.” Reflecting on the complexities of connection, this swaying track is enhanced by crowd participation on the lullaby-like chorus “it’s fleeting, I’m better when I’m leaving” – a sung mantra between artist and audience of appreciating the present when departure is imminent.
Olive Klug refuses to be put in a box. Working out who you are in front of an ever-growing audience is no small task, but one that the Portland-born, Nashville-based singer/songwriter is up for and thriving.
Olive graduated with a liberal arts degree shortly before the 2020 pandemic derailed their plans of pursuing a career in social work. Though they’d recorded and self-released the 2019 EP “Fire Alarm” from a childhood friend’s bedroom, up until early 2021, Olive categorized their music as either a hobby or a pipe dream, depending on who was asking. However, after being laid off from a teaching job in late 2020, Olive started working as a barista and decided to commit all of their extra energy to an ever-growing community of fans online.
Combining their knack for storytelling with a lilting soprano voice, Klug offers observations with an unflinching honesty. 2025 finds Olive in Nashville, attempting to stabilize after a 3-year whirlwind of viral niche internet-fame, non stop touring, and music industry naïveté. Olive’s social work background grounds them in community, a word they keep coming back to when ego proves unfulfilling. Olive is excited to solidify themselves as a fixture of the greater folk community and return to what inspires them the most about music; the catharsis and social change that is possible when people come together and share themselves through song.
Lost Dog tracklisting:
1. Taking Punches From The Breeze
2. What To Make Of Me
3. Cold War
4. Train of Thought
5. Opposite Action
6. Lost Dog
7. One Dimension
8. Fleeting
Olive Klug on Tour:
FRI 25 APR – Buffalo, NY @ The 9th Ward at Babeville
SAT 26 APR – Toronto, ON, Canada @ The Drake Underground
MON 28 APR – Washington, DC @ The Atlantis
WED 30 APR – Millvale, PA @ The Funhouse at Mr. Smalls
THU 01 MAY – Philadelphia, PA @ The Lounge at World Cafe Live
FRI 02 MAY – Cambridge, MA @ Club Passim
SAT 03 MAY – Providence, RI @ AS220
SUN 04 MAY – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
WED 07 MAY – Portsmouth, NH @ 3S Artspace
FRI 09 MAY – Portland, ME @ One Longfellow Square
SAT 10 MAY – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground Showcase Lounge
THU 19 JUN – Telluride, CO @ Telluride Bluegrass Festival
SAT 21 JUN – Greenfield, MA @ Green River Festival
SAT 5- SUN 6 JUL – Orillia, ON, Canada @ Mariposa Folk Festival
THU 24 – SUN 27 JUL – Calgary, AB, Canada @ Calgary Folk Music Festival
FRI 1 – SUN 3 AUG – Happy Valley, OR @ Pickathon
TUE 5 AUG – Bend, OR @ Volcanic Theatre Pub
WED 6 AUG – Eugene, OR @ Tsunami Books
THU 7 AUG – Olympia, WA @ Olympia Lamplighters
FRI 8 AUG – Carnation, WA @ Miller’s
SAT 9 AUG – Bellingham, WA @ New Prospect Theatre
TUE 12 AUG – Spokane, WA @ The Chameleon
THU 14 AUG – Polebridge, MT @ Home Ranch Bottoms
FRI 15 AUG – Missoula, MT @ The Show Room at the Zacc
SAT 16 AUG – Bozeman, MT @ Live from the Divide
SAT 23 AUG – Walla Walla, WA @ Billsville West
