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Sound-wise, I've always liked the sound of electric guitars in distress: amped and overdriven to distortion (rather like Neil Young/Crazy Horse & Bill Frisell). 'His Name Is Alive's prime mover is Warren Defever, who has great taste in sensitive acoustic guitar plucking, feedbacking guitar outbursts and loops/samples, sometimes using all three in the one song. Here & there there's a string section to provide contrast and a considerable amount of sadness to the quieter songs. Principal vocalist Karin Oliver is less strident now than on the debut album & sounds more like she's singing 'to' you, rather than 'at' you.
The lyrics are a little oblique, though rascism, sexual desire, relationships (both good & bad) and drowning appear. I've wondered before whether the tracks "Cornfield"; "In Every Ford" and "Lord Make Me a Channel of Your Peace" are some form of comment on US Southern States conservative values, though I am aware that's a pretty big brush I'm tarring an awful lot of people with.
The tracks "Drink, Dress and Ink" and "Can't Go Wrong Without You" feature some bizarre effects - the first sounds like Johnny Marr's guitar from The Smiths "How Soon is Now?" but chopped-up much faster, like a motorbike and scary with it; the second sounds just creepy, whereas "Jackrabbits" sounds like 1960's surf-pop from the Beach Boys era. "Sick" is preceded by a brief sample of a sobbing woman threatened with the insane asylum, before carrying on with a stop/start mixture of loud electric guitar & ethnic woodwind. "Lemon Yellow" is the sound of someone likening being happy to sailing on a yellow sea. "Ear" is the story of Van Gogh's self-mutilation set to music. "The Dirt Eaters" is just a brilliant song with a Jack Nicholson sample at the beginning.
I've kept playing this album for years & don't think I will ever get bored with it. It's also a good place to start for newcomers to 'His Name Is Alive' - hence 5 stars.
I have followed this group since the beginning, but this is their best album.
Sound-wise, I've always liked the sound of electric guitars in distress: amped and overdriven to distortion (rather like Neil Young/Crazy Horse & Bill Frisell). 'His Name Is Alive's prime mover is Warren Defever, who has great taste in sensitive acoustic guitar plucking, feedbacking guitar outbursts and loops/samples, sometimes using all three in the one song. Here & there there's a string section to provide contrast and a considerable amount of sadness to the quieter songs. Principal vocalist Karin Oliver is less strident now than on the debut album & sounds more like she's singing 'to' you, rather than 'at' you.
The lyrics are a little oblique, though rascism, sexual desire, relationships (both good & bad) and drowning appear. I've wondered before whether the tracks "Cornfield"; "In Every Ford" and "Lord Make Me a Channel of Your Peace" are some form of comment on US Southern States conservative values, though I am aware that's a pretty big brush I'm tarring an awful lot of people with.
The tracks "Drink, Dress and Ink" and "Can't Go Wrong Without You" feature some bizarre effects - the first sounds like Johnny Marr's guitar from The Smiths "How Soon is Now?" but chopped-up much faster, like a motorbike and scary with it; the second sounds just creepy, whereas "Jackrabbits" sounds like 1960's surf-pop from the Beach Boys era. "Sick" is preceded by a brief sample of a sobbing woman threatened with the insane asylum, before carrying on with a stop/start mixture of loud electric guitar & ethnic woodwind. "Lemon Yellow" is the sound of someone likening being happy to sailing on a yellow sea. "Ear" is the story of Van Gogh's self-mutilation set to music. "The Dirt Eaters" is just a brilliant song with a Jack Nicholson sample at the beginning.
I've kept playing this album for years & don't think I will ever get bored with it. It's also a good place to start for newcomers to 'His Name Is Alive' - hence 5 stars.
This album is recommended for people who enjoy a variety of underground rock styles, as it ranges wide. It has shoegazer guitar squalls, gentle folk-like songs, a rockabilly-styled instrumental, a song backed by cellos, and a cover of Big Star's "Blue Moon" which is almost Enya-esque, all supporting haunting, ethereal female vocals. In spite of the adventurous musical approaches, the songs are always melodic, and there is a continuity in spite of the shifting styles.
While it might be hyperbole to claim this is an unheralded "Sgt. Pepper's" of underground rock, in my opinion that's not far off the mark.
Defever has taken the ethereal soundscapes and folk interludes from "HIIYH" and gathers them together into actual, danceable, dreampop-ish songs!
I feel that he has stayed true to his original vision, but organized in a way that is more accessible than before. (and more listenable).
plus, great album cover by V23...
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR BEGINNERS
along with
"Stars on ESP"
and
"Ft. Lake"
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