Escucha HEM-FUNNEL CLOUD

Folk / Progressive

Brooklyn, New York United States

WEB
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Componentes:

Sally Ellyson - Vocals
Dan Messe - Piano, Accordion, Celeste, Glockenspiel
Gary Maurer - Guitar, Mandolin
Steve Curtis - Guitar, Mandolin, Banjo, Backing Vocals
Bob Hoffnar -pedal steel guitar ,dobro
Mark Brotter -drums
Heather Zimmerman -violin
George Rush -bass


Hems third studio album, Funnel Cloud, features songs of such carefully crafted, dream-like beauty that its almost impossible to place exactly where theyve come from or even in what era they might have been recorded. You can hear a subtle country twang, the storytelling simplicity of great folk music, a touch of Tin Pan Alley sophistication. They at times recall the emotionally stirring sweep of movie music from an age when the best pictures were shot in Cinemascope and orchestras crowded onto sound stages to perform the scores. These tunes are so immediately involving, sometimes so soothingly familiar, that youll insist you know them and love them already. Hem exists very much in the here and now, but always manages to evoke the timeless.

The seven-year old quartet vocalist Sally Ellyson, pianist Dan Messé, guitarists Gary Maurer and Steve Curtis hails from Brooklyn, New York. However, they conjure up such vivid, often pastoral settings and restless, lonesome characters in their songs, you may suspect that they long ago discovered some fantastic, secret portal in an old borough building that instantly transports them from their urban environs to a wide open prairie far, far away. Although Messé, Maurer and Curtis individually and jointly contribute material to Hems repertoire, their vision is remarkably unified. As Ellyson, who channels all their imagery, explains, Each song is its own world. They really show an amazing ability, that I dont think everyone has, to create a world in song after song that you can become so connected to, that brings you such deep feelings -- pain, joy, sorrow.

Funnel Cloud is Hems most lushly orchestrated work, yet its also the groups most pop-oriented effort. The immediate standout is Not California, a compelling tale of displaced lovers that was already featured earlier this year on NPRs All Songs Considered. Heart-tugging verses glide into an instantly memorable chorus, and it all builds to a gorgeous, string-laden finale. Too Late To Turn Back Now has an early-seventies country-rock feel; its background strings recall the brilliant charts that legendary arranger Paul Buckmaster created for Tumbleweed Connection-period Elton John. The Pills Stopped Working is a mid-album showstopper, a rollicking number featuring honky-tonk piano, wailing harmonica, gospel-like vocal harmonies from guest singers Amy Helm of Ollabelle and former Smashing Pumpkin James Iha, and a soaring horn section. Says Ellyson, Were experimenting and having fun and you can hear that on the record. -THE BOOTH-

Hem - Funnel Cloud (Sept 2006)


1. We'll Meet Along The Way
2. He Came To Meet Me
3. Not California
4. Funnel Cloud
5. Too Late To Turn Back Now
6. The Pills Stopped Working
7. Hotel Fire
8. Great Houses Of New York
9. Curtains
10. Old Adam
11. The Burnt-Over District
12. Reservoir
13. I'll Dream Of You Tonight
14. Almost Home

Escucha en THE BOOTH

MP3
En el link puedes ver el resto de la discografía.