A music blog dedicated to my ever-expanding tastes. A musical journey with endless pitstops along the way. Bringing you the best of what I see and hear.
It's certainly been awhile since we've heard from Michigan folk rockers Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers. If you've been in the Michigan area, there's certainly been no shortage of appearances by the quintet but for everyone else there's been relative little to for you besides a one-off single the band released last summer. Well now you're in luck. Back in November, The Rainbow Seekers holed up in an industrial building by the name of the Russell Industrial Center and filmed a set of brand spanking new songs completely live. They recorded both videos of the endeavor as well as audio and we get to revel in both as we wait for the eventual follow up to 2011's On Being.
From their very On Being-esque "Your Story" to the sax-infused jazzy baby making vibes of "Feel", Joe Hertler and his band establish two things: 1) That good things come to those who wait. Offering a eclectic set of songs that balance the serious nature of Hertler's introspection a la On Being as well as the fun times the band and vivacious energy the band is known for 2) The band quite simply needs to tour more. It's downright criminal that only the Midwest gets to experience the talented, interconnected of this band. These videos are enough to make us all a little jealous.
"Garden"
"Your Story"
"Feel"
"River Runs Dry"
"Red Wings"
You can download the digital album at their bandcamp here.
About a week or so after I met CMJ last year, folk rockers Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers filmed a video. After a few false advertisements about when it would be out, the band simply stopped mentioning it anymore. I however did not forget about it and the video's release kind of became an ongoing joke between me and the band. "Remember when you guys filmed a music video?" "So....when's that music video coming out? Never? Okay guys." and other such statements to that effect. Well after nearly 7 months of waiting, their video for "Ego Loss on Grand River", a track off their spectacular On Being, is finally live.
For the video, the band more or less snuck into Michigan State University's Homecoming Parade (they totally did) and filmed. It's simple enough, lead man Joe Hertler marches along in the parade before being joined one by one by his band members and all sorts of supporters that cluster around him, singing along and decking him out with cape and flashing a spiffy banner. The video is fun but kind of quietly powerful and encapsulates just that about the band - they may be a band of fun-loving jokers but they radiate talent and passion. It's pretty great. Well worth the 7 months of waiting, actually.
Watch the video for Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers' "Ego Loss on Grand River":
And if you haven't yet, make sure you check out their amazing record On Being.
Considering how busy frontman Joe Hertler's been this year, I'd pretty much put the thought of any new music from him and his excellent band aside. So it certainly came as a surprise when I read Hertler's interview with My Folking Heart that said the band were right about to begin work on another new album. Talk about a great surprise. And while it may not be on the new album (since Joe has a rather vast selection of songs to choose from for it), Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers have offered up this brand spanking new track "Home For A Funeral".
It's got a special kind of introspection that could very well have found it alongside the other songs on the band's concept album On Being, and yet not and that should make us all excited about LP #2. It's got a slow, deliberate pacing as Joe sets up the narrative being winding up and letting the Rainbow Seekers loose like a pack of hunting dogs infusing the somber track with a whole lot of upbeat rocking moments. The effect elevates the song from a poignant mining of tragedy into a downright celebration of life.
Strangely enough, I remember when a year ago when I swore I would never do a Best Of list. At least not in the way that some blogs do there. Rehashing old reviews and offering nothing new - that might work for some but it's not my style. And yet, Best Of lists are a great way to discover some great music you might've missed throughout the year or might've forgotten about. So my hope is that by throwing my own hat into the Best Of ring I can help do one of those things for you. Enjoy my first Best Of list or more aptly put, my favorite 15 tracks of 2011.
15) The Deloreans - "Buffalo", "American Craze"
Before Sam at MiddleClassWhiteNoise introduced me to The Deloreans, I wasn't aware there was anything of note in Kentucky. Let alone the three stellar bands I was later introduced to from Louisville. An ode to old-fashioned American decadence and a hodge-podge of different styles, practically any song on the album is worthy of a slot and definitely necessary listening but what set "Buffalo" apart is its multi-faceted nature. Fun and frenetic for the choruses but subtle and restrained for the verses, the track utilizes the intense energy of "American Craze" without sacrificing any of the thematic content.
14) North Highlands - "Roundhouse", Wild One
For an album named Wild One, there's actually a shortage of songs that are actually all that unchained and yet that works for North Highlands. Brenda Malvini's soft, delicate vocals are inviting and the band, broad and sweeping around her, pull you in like ocean waves. Malvini quiet coo in "Roundhouse" "If I was wild, if I was brave..." explains a bit, and ends up far more effective than a roar. The track pulses with an infectious energy while maintaining an almost stoic control before there's an unexpected rush, the opening of the floodgates and you're smacked with feeling. The track tells a story but is also intensely danceable. The best of both worlds.
13) The Dodos - "Good", No Color
When I first read that Neko Case would be contributing vocals to the new Dodos album I regarded it with a great deal of surprise and confusion. Meric Long's voice somehow fits the percussion-heavy folk realm the two inhabit but how would Neko Case's translate? Incredibly well. And yet, the tracks where she was barely there- a mostly quiet spectre in the background were the tracks I enjoyed most. When she shouts and harmonizes on "Good" it's almost too much good to bear. "Good" is great because it's driving, hard-hitting, with an astonishing amount of simplicity but effortless precise and no doubt memorable. It's 6 minutes long but far from monotonous - something always catching your ear to keep you from just drifting off. Good by The Dodos by Mute-Song
12) Hello MTN - "Suitcase Song", Tour EP
Portland folk duo Hello MTN have been working on an album for better part of the year, taking breaks pretty much solely to tour. Luckily, the duo decided to make a four song EP so concertgoers would have something tangible to hold onto and things just kind of spiraled from there. "Suitcase Song" might seem like a bit of a novelty (being that the song features an actual suitcase as the percussion) but the song is positively awash with emotion. The song makes use of the duo's seemingly endless array of talents and features remarkable musical interludes between verses.
11) Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers - "We Are Everything", On Being
It's hard to fathom the possibility of not seeing Joe Hertler and his band in that small mostly empty bar at the start of my CMJ but I did and for that I'm exceedingly glad. On Being shows off Joe Hertler's deft songwriting chops and a wisdom far beyond his years with "We Are Everything" functioning as a delightfully enjoyable cog in Joe Hertler's conceptualized vision. While songs on On Being wrestles with bigger picture ideas and pseudo-religious themes, "We Are Everything" notes how tiny humans are in the grand scheme of things when compared to the limitless wonders of the universe and yet, does so with nary a heavy-hand. Instead with his rich imagery and patience, Joe Hertler creates something truly soul-stirring.
10) Left With Pictures, "June", In Time
Last year, British chamber pop quintet Left With Pictures challenged themselves to the great songwriting feat of writing a song a month as part of their In Time project. Not only did they have to have a fully developed song that would be premiered by Gideon Coe on BBC 6Music on the last Monday of each month but they also had to have a finished video which they would post the next day. For 2010, I had no greater joy than when a brand new Left With Pictures track was revealed as each month their songwriting seemed to get better and better especially when they reached months without an obvious inspiration. One of my favorite tracks from this was "June", inspired in part by the advent of summer but with no obvious references to it. Instead "June", the month it was composed for, is personified as a beautiful girl whom has utterly enchanted the narrator. The song is as big as it's claims that a thousand battle ships would launch for her - the band pulling out all their songwriting chops to brilliant effect to create an upbeat romp full of positively delightful musical moments.
9) tUnE-yArDs - "Bizness", W H O K I L L
My introduction to "Bizness" happened live at tUnE-yArDs' concert in Central Park about a year and a half ago. There she performed almost all the sounds that weren't created by bassist Nate Brenner or with her own drums sticks with her own mouth (besides the brass band she had join her for a couple songs). It was exceptionally impressive. So when I heard the new version where those vocal effects were replaced with studio-processed machine sounds I was a little disappointed. And yet, even with that little let down, the infectiously catch nature of "Bizness" won out. It takes some of the best moments of her 2009 debut and amplifies them about tenfold. Garbus' decision to studio record affords the track with increased accessibility but also allowed her to throw some great things onto it (like the aforementioned brass band). tUnE-yArDs - Bizness (4AD) by Ragged Words
8) The Head and the Heart - "Rivers and Roads", The Head and the Heart
During an intimately live show at Pianos in September, I had an epiphany: Spunky Seattle folk sextet The Head and the Heart write some pretty sad songs. This might seem like a no-brainer or even downright wrong to you but underneath their fun, poppy arrangements are lyrics about feeling out of place and alone whether you're far from from or stuck in your hometown. And yet there's a shortage songs on the album where this emotion is just left to its own devices - not played with by the groups various band members and their skilled arrangements. "Rivers and Road" is one of those rare songs that's not upbeat and makes no attempts to be. You don't get rapped up in the feel of the song and think it's about something else entirely - no, instead you get this wonderful moment of heart-on-your-sleeve confession carried from a purely vocal standpoint. Guitarist/vocalist Josiah Johnson gets his moment to shine while the rest of the band helpfully keep tempo and Jonathan Russell and Charity Rose Thielen add backup harmonies. And it's all quite lovely and good and makes for a nice song and then in an utterly unexpected moment Charity takes the helm with powerhouse vocals radiating with soul and you're a puddle on the floor. It elevates the already good song to an absolutely other plane of greatness and tugs at each and every one of your heartstrings. Rivers and Roads by ImpressYourPeers
7) Carter Tanton - "Murderous Joy", Freeclouds
It strangely alright that, like a lot of my musical discoveries, Carter Tanton was a case of being at the right place at the right time. Because Tanton's "Murderous Joy" might just be one of the best songs I've heard in awhile and especially was about a month ago when I was introduced to it. It's catchy in an excitedly nonchalant way - a brilliant masterpiece of a song that single-handedly proved Carter Tanton and an able songwriter to me. There's an ineffable greatness about it - it ebbs and flows at precisely the right moments; its simple with unassumingly intelligent turns of phrase and a pervading sense of calm nostalgia. 01 MURDEROUS JOY by NYLONmag
6) Tallest Man on Earth - "Weather of A Killing Kind", Adult Swim Singles Program 2011
After the release of The Tallest Man on Earth's sophomore album The Wild Hunt and subsequent Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird EP just a couple months after last year I figured we'd be done with any new Tallest Man for awhile. So when Adult Swim released a brand new Tallest Man track as part of its Single Program this summer I was incredibly surprised and equally as appreciative. It's quintessential Tallest Man with his trademark rasp and complex fingerpicking but also with beautiful melodies. The Tallest Man on Earth - Weather of a Killing Kind by All Around Sound Blog
5) St. Vincent - "Cruel", Strange Mercy
When I first heard St. Vincent's music, I remember being strangely neutral about it. Albeit my first foray was at a live show that Annie Clark herself was disappointed in. But earlier this year when Annie Clark teased Strange Mercy via Twitter-fueled Youtube videos, color me intrigued. I revisted her older stuff and found myself actually really liking it. When "Surgeon" dropped, I ate it up and asked immediately for more. Then "Cruel" came out. This track took the big rock licks that were my favorite part of "Surgeon" and made a whole song of it. It's big, bold, and strangely enough not in your face. Annie Clark knows subtlety. She's made a career of wink-wink nudge-nudge moments and yet, "Cruel" is subtle in a brand new way. It's vunerable and open with a shouted from the mountaintops vibe that she tones down into something far more marvelous. It's catchy without trading in any of the necessary emotion and virtuosic without being overly showy. St. Vincent - Cruel by Posh Magazine
4) Fleet Foxes - "Grown Ocean", Helplessness Blues
Fleet Foxes' Helplessness Blues is arguably one of the best things to come out of this year. Especially when you realize it almost didn't. But Robin Pecknold's musical perfectionism ended up creating one of the greatest albums of the year - one that tackles an important theme of growing up. One of the best songs on Helplessness Blues is no doubt "Grown Ocean", with it's driving drums and bass, not to mention it's place as the cathartic end to an album with heaps to say and even more questions to ask. Everything you love about Fleet Foxes spills out in this track - Robin Pecknold and the band's lovely songcraft, everpresent nature imagery, soul-gripping vocal harmonies. The whole thing is utterly magical, even the wonderfully little ellipses that ends the track (and album). Fleet Foxes - Grown Ocean by subpop
3) Marissa Nadler - "In Your Lair, Bear", Marissa Nadler
If I had made this list about a week ago, this track wouldn't be here. But since sitting down with Marissa Nadler's self-titled I've found this song has completely taken over my life. Since I heard the opening strains of the album's opening track, I've hardly been able to listen to much else. It's slowly but surely consuming me. And yet, isn't that exactly what our favorite songs do? With her slow, lilting siren song Marissa Nadler has charmed her way not only onto the list but also pretty high on my favorites list. "In Your Lair, Bear", with it's supple melodic lines and yawny unraveling narrative is bewilderingly beautiful. Not a bad song to have utterly take over your life, actually.
2) Laura Marling - "Flicker and Fail", A Creature I Don't Know (Bonus Version)
I was first introduced to the live version of this song which Laura Marling debuted at the Radio 2 Folk Awards early this year and I was struck by how good it is. When describing Laura Marling's music calling it "good" seems kind of like kind of a moot point but considering that half the song is an old song her father wrote and the rest is just things she fixed around it, I was surprised by how well it all seemed to go together. Laura Marling has always been described as being a mature songwriter but this song left me completely floored. Still does. For all the conceptualizing on I Speak Because I Can and A Creature I Don't Know, this track hit me square in the heart. Not only did it sound amazing, like all of Marling songs, but it captured all the elements I loved about Marling and elevated them to the next level - her witty turns of phrase? Present. Her intricate guitar melodies? Present. It contains the emotional side-stepping Marling has started to make her songwriting staple and yet, does in a manner that doesn't make you question it. "Flicker and Fail" shows a decidedly better Laura Marling that was hinted at in some of the best tracks on A Creature I Don't Know and her decision to include it (albeit as a bonus track) shows that she knows this too.
1) ARMS - "Heat & Hot Water", Summer Skills
"Heat & Hot Water" might not have been the first song I heard from ARMS (that slot is reserved for "Emily Sue, Cont'd") but it was the song that launched my year-long obsession with all things ARMS related. So much storytelling is packed into 4 minutes of vibrant, visceral songwriting not to mention so many delicate musical ornaments and intricate textural strokes. While practically any song from Summer Skills could've made it on this list, "Heat & Hot Water" is my definitive ARMS song. The moment on their 2010 EP where I realized I needed to know more, and probably my most listened to track of the whole entire year of 2011. Not to mention a surefire contender for one of my favorite songs ever written ever.
Honorable Mentions: Conveyor - Sun Ray, Sun Ray EP The Middle East - "Hunger Song", I Want That You Are Always Happy Laura Marling - "Don't Ask Me Why"/"Salinas" A Creature I Don't Know Sondre Lerche - "When the River", Sondre Lerche The Voluntary Butler Scheme - "Don't Rely On It, Don't Count on It", The Grandad Galaxy
I mentioned in my intro post that Michigan folk-rock band Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers were a completely unplanned discovery for me. My CMJ was supposed to start at Spike Hill with a show by Baltimore duo Lands & People and then take me wherever good music beckoned me. But Joe Hertler and his band took the stage first, playing to a mostly empty crowd consisting of me, two of their friends, and then fashionable latecomers. From their first song, I was instantly captivated; they were energetic, fun, and had a blindsiding wealth of songwriting talent. So when I met them afterward and they told me of their upcoming album release, I added it to the definitely buying pile. A decision I couldn’t regret less than any in recent memory.
On Being is a soul-stirring set of wonderfully well played and even more wonderfully well-written songs. Hertler’s vocals are downright caressing but also jumping to heart-rousing highs that pack one hell of an emotional punch. Aided all the more by these absolutely fantastic vocal harmonies peppered throughout at all the right moments.
Considering how great On Being is, it seems to only get greater when you discover the fact that it is in fact a concept album: on existence. That’s some pretty heavy subject matter right there which Joe Hertler and his band do an amazing job of utilizing. The songs aren’t the kind that make grandiose statements on what it means to live but rather with are subtly colored with a feather-light touch that makes them all the more likely to resonate with listeners. There’s some religious themes but they’re juxtaposed with these sort of slice of life moments on the album (like “Devil, Don’t Steal My Bicycle” or “Carbon C-14”) that manages to both give them a bit of weight while also equalizing them a bit. On Being is an album that though it deals with all these big ideas doesn’t aspire to be much more than a good album. And that’s exactly why it’s so effective. An unbelievably great debut from delightfully talented group of musicians.
You can stream Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seeker's debut album On Being on their Bandcamp and buy it on most major online retailers.
Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers was the first band I saw this week at New York's College Music Journal Marathon. A quiet, low attended show at Spike Hill in Brooklyn where I originally went to see Lands & Peoples for the first time live yielding a surprisingly great start to my CMJ experience. Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers are folk rock group from Lansing, Michigan with a ton of onstage energy and the particularly amazing songwriting talent of frontman Joe Hertler. Where it would be easy for them to coast by on their infectious live energy, what really made them a great band to listen to was Hertler's lyrical chops and charm. Add in the fact that the band hasn't even been together a full yet and you can imagine my surprise at hearing such a cohesive, captivating live set. Whether in the overtly folky "Devil, Don't Steal My Bicycle" or the more understated "Carbon C14" and "We Are Everything", it's clear that Joe Hertler and his band are accomplished musicians who know what they're doing and do it well. An absolute pleasure to see live, actually.
Get a taste of Joe Hertler and his band The Rainbow Seekers with these video of "Devil, Don't Steal the Bicycle" and "We Are Everything":
Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers debut album, On Being, is out November 8th via Bigger Brush Media and it's definitely a must have. You can pre-order it now here.
