Say hello to one of my favorite songs of the year. The studio version of “Morning” was featured in my Best of 2016: Q1 playlist, and in this rare instance of repetition, I felt it necessary to emphasize the magical transition Garrett Sale (William Wild’s real name) makes when moving from the studio to the stage. He derived his pseudonym from a homeless man who used the same name as an alias during a conversation with Sale. Sale doubted the man’s name was truly William Wild but fell in love with catchy alliterative tone. Whether he’s performing as a solo artist or with as many as 6-7 other musicians in a large band setting, Sale keeps the same stage name because, as he states, “I always knew that I might be by myself at times, so I wanted a name that sounded like a person. It also starts that conversation of, ‘You know that’s a band and there’s no person named that?'”

Some friends have heard this song and questioned what factors go into making it one of my favorite songs of the year, commented “It’s fun, but I wouldn’t say one of the best of the year.” This subjective decision steams from several sources. First, softer songs that can consistently serve as one the last song I hear before going to sleep are special and consistently rank higher on my “Best of” lists than most other songs. Song like “Morning” just capture a special calmness and feeling of elation that I feel positively shapes my mind as I wisp off to dreamland. Second, the story of falling for someone at an early age and later growing apart for unidentifiable reasons is relatable on multiple fronts, but Sale’s unique way of telling it is optimistic to the point of forced smiles from listeners and performers alike (see 1:37 or 4:00). Finally, the blend of acoustic folky instruments is such a seamless mesh that it’s tough to realize William Wild consists of 6 separate band members rather than 2-3. That kind of chemistry makes listening easy to the point that I haven’t found a single person displeased with symmetry and wholeness defining the band/individual that is William Wild.