Hem "Funnel Cloud" (Nettwerk)
By Kimberly Rosenbauer
Friday. Sep 08, 12:12 PM
Music to bring you back to the simple life.

Every so often I will stare at my music collection and whine softly to myself, “I’ve got nothing to listen to.” What I usually do listen to at that point is some old classics – something incredibly simple but also incredibly beautiful – like Joni Mitchell or James Taylor. Then I can refocus and remember why music is so great in the first place. Luckily, I have found another such antidote in Hem’s newest album, Funnel Cloud.

The Brooklyn group’s fifth album is indeed nothing short of beautiful. Essentially folk music, droplets of country can be heard every now and then with instruments like pedal steel, mandolin, and banjo, though Hem don’t seem to have one precise style. Despite seemingly simple melodies, the eight different members all do their own thing enough to give every song substance and depth.

Opener “We’ll Meet Along the Way” hooks you in right away. The quiet piano under singer Sally Ellyson’s Eva Cassidy-esque voice is incredibly moving, especially as she slowly sings: “Go easy now… go easy now / later on the road I’m gonna lay my body down / we’ll meet along the way I know.”

In “Not California,” Hem give us a slightly more upbeat number with a harmonica and gentle snare drum taps that almost sound like a slowly passing train. Ellyson livens up the song during the chorus when she demonstrates her higher range by belting out, “And it’s not true / and it’s not fair / and it’s not you / and it’s – not – California here.” Songs like this one demonstrate Hem’s stronghold over light and dark effects in music and their ability to seamlessly alternate between the two.

From the country licks of “The Pills Stopped Working” to the artsyness of “Great Houses of New York,” this group has talent and are not afraid to experiment with that talent in different ways while still maintaining their own identity. It’s an album that you need to have in your collection, even if it’s just for the sake of realigning your musical ear from some of the crap that’s out there.
www.hemmusic.com
www.nettwerk.com

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Kimberly Rosenbauer

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