Hem's Solemn Good-bye: Departure And Farewell

The Good: Amazing vocals, Engaging sound for most of the tracks, Decent lyrics
The Bad: SHORT, Largely forgettable and familiar
The Basics: Hem's (apparent) final full album, Departure And Farewell delivers a true, masterful gem for one track, but little else for the rest.


As 2018 picks up, I find myself catching up on many things that have slipped by the wayside the last few weeks, months . . . and in the case of music, years. I went looking last night for an album that was supposed to be released in late 2016, only to discover it remains unreleased even now. That put me on a search for music from some of my favorite musical artists and it was then that I discovered Hem's Departure And Farewell. The album's name instantly got me down, figuring that it meant that Hem had dissolved and, despite the release of a single subsequent EP, that appears to be true. Hem was a group I discovered for myself during the end of my first marriage and the time I spent afterward putting my life back together. The idea that the band had fallen apart made me sad, but I eagerly picked up Departure And Farewell and put it into high rotation.

In some ways, Departure And Farewell is a fitting conclusion to the Hem discography in that the bulk of the album is familiar, melancholy and disturbingly indistinct. The thirteen song, 37:05 long album, is very much a Hem album, but - despite a decent start - it hits its high ridiculously fast and never quite comes back from it. In fact, that made it hard for me to want to write much about Departure And Farewell; Hem fans might enjoy the album simply for a few new songs with Sally Ellyson's amazing voice and the quality of the lyrics. But, the truth is, Departure And Farewell is very much a one-hit wonder album.

Departure And Farewell features songs about endings, delivered in Sally Ellyson's amazing soprano voice. Ellyson sings clearly and the album continues to present better-than-average lyrics written by the band.

But, like a one-hit wonder who hits with a great single, but can't land a second track on the radio, Departure And Farewell fumbles after the second track. "Walking Past The Graveyard, Not Breathing" is an absolutely amazing song. The song progresses through life stages with the child's game of holding one's breath near a cemetery as a metaphor. The progression from childhood to loss to mourning is a slice of true, agonizing, musical genius. The song is simple and smart, the backing instrumentation is more complicated than most of Hem's music and it hints at all of the potential Hem had and (more often than not) successfully executed. "Walking Past The Graveyard, Not Breathing" is a clever, adult song that is expertly delivered and has a strange inability to be marketed today on the radio.

Within the context of Departure And Farewell, "Walking Past The Graveyard, Not Breathing" shines so brightly that the eleven songs that follow it seem simplistic and unmemorable by contrast. The result is a mellow and low good-bye from Hem, which is in some ways fitting for the band that never found its mainstream audience.

For other Hem works, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Rabbit Songs
Eveningland
Birds And Beasts And Flowers (EP with Autumn Defense)
No Word From Tom
Funnel Cloud
Twelfth Night Soundtrack

5.5/10

Check out how this album stacks up against other music I have reviewed by visiting my Music Review Index Page where the albums are organized from best to worst!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Nothing New From This Country: Hem’s Funnel Cloud Underwhelms.

The Good: Amazing voice, One or two good songs
The Bad: Derivative of earlier Hem works, Much more Country, Predictable rhymes
The Basics: On their fourth album, Hem seems to be running low on decent writing, though the band's voice and sound remain strong.


Somehow, earlier this year, I simply became a fan of Hem. I don't know how it happened, but I saw the cover for No Word From Tom, listened to "The Fire Thief" on Eveningland and started buying and listening to Hem's albums. So, I was quite surprised in early autumn when I was randomly wandering through one of my favorite shops in Salem, MA, that I found Hem's new album Funnel Cloud. And for those who actually read my hundreds of reviews, you know I don't usually buy c.d.s from artists unless I know three singles from the album or they are one of the few artists that I'll buy anything from (like Heather Nova, Dar Williams, and Oasis). Apparently, Hem managed to get into that elite group.

But this was the last time.

Hem's music, on their three prior full-length discs, has existed on a self-created border between light pop-rock, country and folk and my original instinct was to enjoy the music for its originality. Funnel Cloud crosses the group over into a much more distinctly Country music category. "The Pills Stopped Working" has a distinct Country sound, even if the lyrics aren't. "Old Adam" has the classic country sound, but "Not California" and especially "Too Late To Turn Back Now" have that new country flavor I'm not fond of. So, while the prior releases were much more mixed, Funnel Cloud is more country and I'm personally not a fan.

That's not to say it's all Country. "Old Adam" has the slow, sad sound of classic folk. Hem effectively creates a new folk song that sounds like it could have been sung in the hills of West Virginia for the last eighty years. That's talent.

Hem also has a way of leaving their albums somewhat unbalanced. On Eveningland, for example, the last four tracks are mind-blowingly wonderful, while the other tracks tend to oscillate in quality. On Funnel Cloud, there are three solid tracks right in the middle: "Great Houses of New York," "Curtains," and "Old Adam." "Great Houses of New York" is a sad, empty framework whispered out by lead singer Sally Ellyson. "Curtains" explores a woman who leaves her love and makes the difficult road back and it finds her voice strong and powerful. And "Old Adam," is a field folk song. And they are the core of the album, but Funnel Cloud has little else to it.

Part of the problem is the sound of many of the tracks on Funnel Cloud. As much as I like "Great Houses of New York," it's a deeply derivative track. It begins with a sound much like "Carry Me Home" from Eveningland. And "Curtains" is basically a rewrite of Hem's song "Strays." "I'll Dream of You Tonight" sounds like a prior Hem song as well. So while these songs might be fine for other artists, in Hem's repertoire, they create the feel that the band is already running out of musical ideas. And that's a shame.

What is an even greater shame is that the writing on Funnel Cloud has become a great deal more predictable than on prior Hem works. Dan Meese, the primary writer of Hem's songs, seems to have stopped trying to challenge himself in terms of rhymes. The album opens with a very short track where Meese doesn't even try. Much of the song is simply repeating the line :"We'll meet along the way, I know." It's easy to rhyme lines when you're simply repeating the same line over and over again. Such apathy for attempting originality continues into "He Came To Meet Me," whose first line rhymes "me" with "me." It's filled with stale, overdone rhymes: day/way, near/fear, and night/light, for example. Funnel Cloud, both the album and the track, are filled with predictable rhymes. It causes the listener to tire quickly of this album.

Still, to their credit Hem has a rather rich sound, owing in large part to the vocal talents of Sally Ellyson. She has an amazing voice and she sells the band. This album is still impressive for her voice. She has an amazing soprano that has no counterpart in mainstream pop culture. She is a gem that has to be heard to be believed. Should I ever go to a Hem concert, it will be because I want to see that siren sing!

The other plus is that Hem has a wonderful sense of musical history and especially a great, rich sound. Put in the most plain possible terms, Hem uses lots of different instruments and it uses them quite well. How many groups list the "glockenspiel" as the second instrument used by the band in their liner notes?! Moreover, how many groups have two artists who play the glockenspiel on their album? Hem has two glockenspiel and two mandolin players and Dan Meese plays the Celeste as well. This is not a musically untalented group.

They have talent coming out of ever orifice. Unfortunately, on their latest outing, Hem does not illustrate it as well as they could. The best track is "Great Houses of New York," the most disappointing is "We'll Meet Along The Way."

For other Hem works, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Rabbit Songs
Eveningland
Birds And Beasts And Flowers (EP with Autumn Defense)
No Word From Tom
Twelfth Night Soundtrack

4.5/10

For other music reviews, be sure to check out my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2006 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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Lonely Cover Belays Sorrowful Covers With Hem’s No Word From Tom

The Good: Excellent instrumentals, imaginative covers, Great voice
The Bad: Live versions add little, One or two duds
The Basics: On Hem's third full album, they tackle reinterpreting their own work, presenting their deleted work and covering others, with mixed results.


No Word From Tom is what got me into Hem. Actually, it was the cover of the album that did it. You know how sometimes, we bring our own "stuff" to our interpretation of art? Well, I was at Barnes and Noble early this year and I saw the cover to No Word From Tom and I thought the picture, with the title, was absolutely perfect. I saw the cover as a lonely woman sitting on her bed, looking mournfully over old love letters. This was a woman waiting, so coupled with the title No Word From Tom, it was perfect to me. Upon closer inspection, the cover is actually a pretty mellow lead singer (Sally Ellyson) looking over sheets of music, but hey, it worked for me for a long time.

No Word From Tom, Hem's third full-length album is a mixed bag of demos, live performances, coversongs and "rarities" produced from 2000 to 2005. The album opens with the mood I anticipated based on my interpretation of the cover with a truncated version of the lullaby "All The Pretty Horses" and the cover "Rainy Night In Georgia." The disc shifts gears abruptly on the third track and after that, it's track by track for mood. The surprising thing about No Word From Tom is that - for an album that is a compilation of different performances and venues and moods - the album is remarkably cohesive and solid as an album.

What works? Certainly the mood. The consistent quality of Sally Ellyson's voice is remarkable. She has a simply stunning soprano that tackles everything thrown at it. So while "Radiation Vibe" is fast and quirky, "Cincinnati Traveler" is soft and poetic, and "South Central Rain" is wrenchingly sad, Ellyson's voice carries the album with consistency that makes the work undeniably Hem. Or hers, I suppose.

"South Central Rain" is the notable cover song on No Word From Tom. From R.E.M.'s album "Reckoning," Hem's cover is a reimagining of the song a la Sophie B. Hawkins' amazing cover of Dylan's "I Want You." In both instances, the artists change the tempo and tenor of the song to more accurately portray and present the emotions of the lyrics. And while some object to such reimaginings, in both cases, the cover artists nail the song. Hem's "South Central Rain" is haunting and lonely, a perfect take on the lyrics.

As far as outtakes go, it is interesting to note that the outtakes on this album are both from Eveningland and the bulk of the live performances are from Rabbit Songs. The standout outtake is "Oh No," which has a strong folk feel to it. It seemed odd to me that Hem would release such a project (essentially six of the eighteen tracks are not unique to this album, being live versions of songs from the prior two albums) so early in their career, but the album works. For the most part.

The last thing about No Word From Tom that really kicks are the two versions of "The Cincinnati Traveler" with lyrics that were not on Eveningland (the two version are "The Cincinnati Traveler" and "The City and the Traveler") and the completed, unabridged version of Eveningland. Both tracks beg the question "why wasn't this released on Eveningland?" The unabridged "Eveningland" seems especially baffling as the prior album bore its name.

Anyway, what doesn't work is mostly a matter of taste. Hem's cover of "The Tennessee Waltz" does nothing for me. I'm not terribly fond of the original, but the cover doesn't honestly add anything interesting to the song, making me wonder "why did they bother?" After all, an artist as talented vocally as Sally Ellyson need not cover a song simply to show she can do it. When Hem covers another's work, I want it to be because they have a new twist on it.

Similarly, the live tracks seem to be placesavers to build up the volume on the album. I love "The Beautiful Sea" on Eveningland and while I like the live version on No Word From Tom, it doesn't exactly pop anything new at the listener. It is, essentially, the same song. And I already had that. And without the live tracks, No Word From Tom would never have been released as a full album. They bulk up the album.

But, to be fair, by the time one hits the first live versions of previous Hem songs, odds are they'll be hooked. And I have to give credit to the band for their liner notes. Hem graces their listener with explanations for each track. That's classy.

Who will like No Word From Tom? Anyone who liked Rabbit Songs or Eveningland will no doubt enjoy this album. I, personally, don't believe it's the Hem work to start on, despite the quality of "South Central Rain" and the full orchestral version of "Eveningland." Anyone who likes a strong female artist - admittedly, the lyrics are by Dan Meese, who is a guy - will enjoy the vocals by Sally Ellyson, though some of the guys pipe up in some of the live versions of Hem songs in ways that can be distracting. Some of the tracks are flat out country (the honky-tonk "Crazy Arms" jumps out) and will be noticed by those who do not like country.

It's a tough album to recommend to people who are not fans of Hem because so much of the work is derivative, the band showing off what they can do and have done. Is it a bad album? No. And the cover alone is worth staring at for forty-eight minutes.

The best track is "South Central Rain" and the weak point is "The Tennessee Waltz."

For other Hem works, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Rabbit Songs
Eveningland
Birds And Beasts And Flowers (EP with Autumn Defense)
Twelfth Night Soundtrack

6/10

For other music reviews, be sure to visit my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2006 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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Is Hem A Herald Of The Hegemony? Rabbit Songs

The Good: Phenomenal vocals, Generally good lyrics, Diverse Instrumentals
The Bad: Strong traditional voice, Generally a slow album
The Basics: With fabulous vocals, it's hard to wonder why Hem sings such depressing songs; at least on Rabbit Songs they do it well.


Hem is a group I have only recently gotten into and the reason it has taken me so long to write reviews of their albums is that their music is so very different from anything else in my collection. I abhor Country and Western music, not because it's Country, but because I'm not into the sound of twangy guitars and voices combined with predictable, silly lyrics. Any music I listen to that makes me envision a hoe-down is pretty much trashed by me. Hem's music is much more classical, more mountain music country than what is familiar Country and Western. Still, some of the tracks are so close to Country that I needed to be sure I was giving the album and group a fair shake.

Hem's debut album Rabbit Songs is a sullen debut, no hoe-downs here. No, the majority of the songs have a sweet sadness to them and the overwhelming emotion expressed is sadness. It's a general ennui with life that Rabbit Songs portrays. From the opening haunting vocals of "Lord, Blow Out The Moon Please" (enough said by the title) to the sense of loss in "Betting On Trains" to the desolate emptiness of "Night Like A River," this is a slow album with much sadness conveyed.

Even the moments that seem to sing of love, are wrenched away from the listener. I suppose one should suspect that a song entitled "Leave Me Here" is not going to be cheery. But when it opens with lines like "I should wake up this town - my heart's on fire" the listener gets suckered in. But, it turns quickly into "I could tell by his face - those two tired eyes / It's been a long night searching for grace, now the sun won't rise." It's another sad song.

Even the up-tempo songs aren't terribly happy. "Stupid Mouth Shut" has the up-tempo song that makes one contemplate romantic country nights, but the song is all about unrequited love and not speaking up with one's feelings.

Damn, this is a depressing album. Even for me.

Maybe that's why I like it, it's mellow. No, actually it's just depressing. This is an album to listen to when you're sad and don't want to get out of being sad. Period.

Part of what makes the album so powerful and effective is the vocal performance of Sally Ellyson, the band's lead singer. She has a powerful, full voice with great range. Her altos are sharp, her sopranos are amazing. Her haunting voice makes "Sailor" the perfect expression of longing, of reaching to obtain. Her lilt on "Betting On Trains" makes the lyrically sad song fun and interesting to listen to.

One of the things that is most impressive about Hem on Rabbit Songs is the diversity of instruments. While the album may be thematically monolithic and the tempo is almost universally slow, the instrumentation is quite diverse. Unlike the typical album these days, with some combination of guitar, piano, bass and drums, Hem is backed by a very full orchestra. Their sound defies genre simply by creating music. While the standards on any given track include Sally Ellyson's voice, guitars, mandolins, piano, harmonium, glockenspiel, drums, bass, and/or violin, individual tracks have even more. There is a pedal steel on several tracks, and "Halfacre" has an additional viola, cello and clarinet. How many contemporary albums use a flute and oboe? Hem does!

And that makes Rabbit Songs hard to define by genre. "Betting on Trains" is a pretty universal ballad, "Stupid Mouth Shut" is almost straight country, and "When I Was Drinking" is pretty direct folk-rock. And while on the subject, Rabbit Songs is a remarkably wholesome album. The second song is about getting sober and leaving a bad influence. There's nothing thematically edgy here. I suppose there's nothing terribly edgy about moody and sad, loss and longing.

So, in final analysis, if you want an album to be depressed by, with fabulous vocals and good musical sound that defies genre, Rabbit Songs is for you. The lyrics are generally good; the songs written by Dan Meese are generally strong, some of the traditional songs have very basic lyrics.

Figuring out a best song is difficult as many of the early tracks (actually up through "Sailor") are pretty decent, even if thematically monolithic. I'll say the simple, lost sadness of "Sailor" is the outstanding track. The tracks "The Cuckoo" and "Horsey" with their somewhat ridiculous and very Country lyrics and/or sound have the least appeal to me.

For other Hem works, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Eveningland
Birds And Beasts And Flowers (EP with Autumn Defense)
Twelfth Night Soundtrack

6.5/10

For other music reviews, please visit my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2006 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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Something Different For The Masses, Except They're Not Listening: Eveningland By Hem!

The Good: Amazing voice, Good music, Decent lyrics
The Bad: Undefinable genre, "Jackson"
The Basics: Defying genre and making a wonderful listening experience, Hem's Eveningland succeeds as something truly different.


This is one of the few albums I have allowed myself to re-rate as I move my reviews from the old site to my own blog. Hem surprised the hell out of me and “Eveningland” was my first experience with the band. I’ve reviewed one of their EPs (here!) and the Twelfth Night Soundtrack (here!) which is not a true Hem album in my book before now. This, however, is an album I am glad to revisit at I move it. I underestimated it originally and the new number rating reflects how much it grew on me in the years since I first heard/reviewed it! Enjoy!

Sometimes, I think I get too caught up in genre. You know, defining things I see and hear by what is the easiest categorization for it. In music, that leads me toward female rockers, folk-rock and alternative pop-rock artists. It makes me flee far away from country or most rap. The categories I don't like are based on what I simply don't like, not because they are labeled by that category. When I first learned of Hem, I met something of a crisis of faith in this department. Allow me to explain:

Hem's music on Eveningland - which I mistakenly listened to thinking it was their first album - is an almost undefinable genre right smack dab on the border between folk, light pop, and country. It does not easily fit into any of the three categories, but it does have elements of all three. Songs like "The Beautiful Sea" tell a story like folk, songs like "Pacific Street" embody the pop ballad perfectly, and songs like "Jackson" are twangy country. And one of the two ways I decided I liked Eveningland and Hem was by understanding that the country sound that Hem creates occasionally is Old Style country. You know, pre-Achy Breaky Heart crossover crap. More classic Johnny Cash style. From when Country was good.

The other way I convinced myself of the album's worth was by listening to it. A lot. It was about ten plays before I decided I liked it.

So why, if it's such a tough sell, am I ultimately recommending it?

From the first listen, Eveningland was different from most anything I ever heard. The opening chords of "The Fire Thief" draw the listener in and deposit them under the control of quite simply the most beautiful soprano voice recording today. Understand, I'm a huge fan of Fiona Apple's music, but the voice of Sally Ellyson puts Apple's to, well, not shame, but it certainly outdoes the best moment's of "Never Is A Promise." Ellyson's fabulous voice takes the simple words and music behind "Carry Me Home" and transforms it into the saddest song I have ever heard. Ellyson's voice evokes images beyond the words that puts "Carry Me Home" into tear-jerker territory. Never in my life did I think Elton John's "The Last Song" would even have a run for its money, but "Carry Me Home" outdoes it for saddest song status. And I've got to say, there's something pretty extraordinary about a song you can put on continual repeat and keep the emotional resonance of it going.

I attribute much to Ellyson's voice and it's credit where credit is due. Her voice on "Strays" transforms a gospel song into folk storytelling. Okay, even if it doesn't, her voice is inspiring, which is what the song needs in order to sell itself. "Strays" tells the story of a narrator who was unfaithful in her engagement, finds solace in church and works to keep others from straying the way she did. It's not a lecture, it's not even a lesson, it's presented as one woman's lonely, then redemptive, experience. And it works. Beautifully. Ellyson's voice makes us forget our trepidations over genres.

It's also the skillful lyrics of Daniel Meese that make the album worth the buy. Songs like "The Beautiful Sea" and "Carry Me Home" illustrate a profound sense of poetry and a real talent for putting words to music. It's almost enough to excuse the predicable rhyme scheme and schmaltzy emotions of early tracks "Lucky" and "Receiver." Eveningland is a pretty solid collection of mellow songs usually conveying some sadness. But it works.

But it isn't for those who are not open-minded, who are stuck on genre. Despite the country sound to "Dance With Me," it seems more pop than country, despite the gospel lyrics to "Strays," it's certainly more folk, and despite the use of instruments like the violin, this is a very contemporary, hip album. But it might need some time to work its magic.

And despite my constant mentions that this took time to grow on me, from the first listen, I was blown away by the last four tracks. Even from the first listen, the last four tracks, "The Beautiful Sea," “Eveningland,” "Pacific Street" and "Carry Me Home" were impressive and compelled me to listen to them again.

On a somewhat outside note, Eveningland - the album - is pretty ballsy in that the title track is an instrumental piece less than two minutes long. I think that's cool. Sadly, both “Eveningland” and "Cincinnati Traveler" are unfinished tracks, which are not compiled in their entirety until No Word From Tom, the album that follows.

In final analysis, this is a pretty wonderful album, mellow and flowing, emotive and sweeping. It combines fabulous vocals with a full orchestra sound not found anywhere else in music today. It's worth the listen and it's one I am keeping in my collection.

The best track is "Carry Me Home," with "The Beautiful Sea" a close second, "Jackson" which is too Country for me bottoms out the album.

For other albums by women with amazing voices, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Cry Cry Cry - Cry Cry Cry
When The Pawn . . . - Fiona Apple
Feels Like Home - Norah Jones

9.5/10

For other music reviews, please visit my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the albums, singles, and boxed sets I have reviewed organized by artist and then chronologically.

© 2012, 2006 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Sampler Of Artists Unheard, Well, Until Now: Birds, Beasts, & Flowers Is All Right.

The Good: Good voices, Good lyrics, Interesting
The Bad: Some music not what I like, Homogenous themes for Hem, Short
The Basics: With well-written lyrics and great voice, Hem and Autumn Defense squeeze out an EP just worth trying out.


First off, I hate EPs. I loathe them. If an artist is prolific enough to produce an album, they should. EPs for compact discs are a waste of material; wait until you have enough songs for a full album, as opposed to rushing out an EP. Second, I had never heard any music by either Hem or Autumn Defense before I purchased Birds, Beasts, & Flowers, the EP that features three tracks from each group. That's not entirely true, I heard clips of some of Hem's music while at Barnes and Noble and I decided - when I could afford it - that I'd give them a shot. My only experience with Autumn Defense is this disc.

In this case, the album inspired more questions than it answered for me, because I purchased it based on liking the clips I had heard of Hem. I still didn't know what type of music Hem makes. I still don't. And Autumn Defense? Who knows?! What would you call the genre of music being made if Simon and Garfunkel were still making music today? It couldn't be an oldie then!

So, it seems germane, because there are only six tracks, to mention each one and then make a conclusion about the album as a whole.

Hem opens Birds, Beasts, & Flowers with "Half Acre," an inarguably folksy song about buying land and moving on. This is a piece that uses violins, a dulcimer (by the sound of it) and strong tympanies. There's not much like it; it's quite orchestral and grand in the music, sad and intimate in the lyrics. It asks the question, quite longingly, "Do you carry every sadness with you?" It makes one who is in pain want to pick up and move elsewhere to just try to literally get away from the pain. Fortunately, Dan Messe, who wrote all of Hem's lyrics on this disc, does not answer that question for us.

This song is sad and lonely, grand and haunting and Hem's lead singer has one of the most beautiful sopranos out there, making it a pleasant song to listen to. It does, however, begin the conundrum of the album; if the piece is called Birds, Beasts, & Flowers, why are all of Hem's songs on the album about places?

Autumn Defense takes the second track with "Bluebirds Fall," a dreamy, organ accompanied piece of light rock that could have come from the hidden vault of Simon and Garfunkel. It's a song that attempts - and largely succeeds - at being dreamlike and ponderous. The only drawback is the melodic refrain is repeated for quite a long while after the lyrics end. I mean, the coda here is half the length of the song. It works for the concept, but fails as a repeated listening experience.

Hem's "Pacific Street" is the third song and hearing it is enough to make one cry. The lead singer's voice is sad and lonesome, noting that it is probably time to leave, but that letting go is just something she cannot do. The simple repetition of "Leaving things is just too hard for me" is almost enough to make one break. Or sit and listen to it on repeat and then drive off into the night with the thought, "It's hard for her, but I can do it." This is what will probably push me over the razor's edge to recommend this EP.

Autumn Defense balances out the melancholy of Hem's "Pacific Street" with "You Know Where I Live," a pop tune that just works.

Hem's last track on the disc is "St. Charlene" and I have to say, I'm not wild about the music. The music is flat out country. I swear the soprano drawls more when she opens with "Traded my last favor for a map of St. Charlene." The kicker is, while the sound of the song is country, the lyrics are quite good. "St. Charlene" tells the story of going back to the place where the narrator used to live with one she loved. And there is nothing left of Them there. And she's able to move on. I won't comment on that.

The album ends with "Mayday," an Autumn Defense instrumental piece. Others would describe it as elevator music. I think I'd ride an elevator to hear this as opposed to the elevator music version of Outkast's "I Like the Way You Move" or David Bowie's "Changes."

This leaves us with a razor decision. I wish I wanted to wait until I heard one of Hem's full-length albums before reviewing this, but I think this is a more organic view of reviewing. Far too often after my reviews, someone comments on "Well, the lead singer was going through X at the time" or "In order to get this part of the movie, you have to know that director Y had just Z." That's a foolish way to rate things. The piece should stand on its own. I refer to Hem's lead singer as "the soprano" because she's a soprano and the packaging to this disc does not tell me her name. I don't need the history of the band or its future, this is a rating on what THIS piece is.

Birds, Beasts, & Flowers is a tease. It's a sampler to try to entice us into buying the next Hem or Autumn Defense album. Hem succeeded, but not on the merits of this album; I purchased Eveningland, their sophomore album, at the same time. Autumn Defense will not be taking up any more shelf space of mine, though I did enjoy "Bluebirds Fall" quite a bit and I find myself humming "You Know Where I Live" quite a bit. Hem's work would make me cautiously buy her album if I were to it again. Why? All three songs are well written, all three songs have a powerful voice that I am enjoying, two of the songs are in a style or format I find pleasing to the ear and my tastes. The other, not so much.

So, at the end of the day, I will recommend this EP, if for no other reason than one ought to support artists and it is clear these two groups are. Hem is quite powerful in lyrics and voice and their sound has range from intimate to grand. Autumn Defense is enjoyable and at the very least pleasant in sound. "Bluebirds Fall" is hypnotic and "Pacific Street" is so perfectly sad, "Mayday" and "St. Charlene" could be improved.

For other, similar, works, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
The Twelfth Night Soundtrack – Hem
Foiled - Blue October
Tear The World Down - We Are The Fallen

5.5/10

For other music reviews, please visit my music index page by clicking here!

© 2012, 2006 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Even Anne Hathaway's Vocals Could Not Save The Twelfth Night Soundtrack!

The Good: Asthetically interesting instrumental pieces
The Bad: Short, Very limited, Short durations of songs make this incidental music largely.
The Basics: Despite three chances to hear Anne Hathaway sing a few of Shakespeare's lines, Twelfth Night is largely a fractured instrumental album without enough to sustain it out-of-context.

My wife believes I am obsessed with Anne Hathaway and tonight I cannot credibly argue with her. The reason I am unable to denying my appreciation of Anne Hathaway's works is that her vocals are featured on three of the songs on the Twelfth Night Soundtrack by Hem and after months of disinterest in this album, learning that Hathaway was involved made me rush out and pick it up.

Now I wish I hadn't.

Twelfth Night features the music composed by Hem with lyrics written by William Shakespeare. This was the soundtrack to the Public Theater's production of Twelfth Night in New York City that ran in the summer of 2009. As a result, the album is both hardly the written works of Hem and hardly an album at all.

Instead, with twenty-eight tracks that add up to a running time of under forty minutes, the album is a random collection of musical interludes. Bouncing between instrumentals performed by the Illyrian Marching Band and Gowanus Radio Orchestra, this is a fractured collection of mood music that sounds a lot like the musical breaks before and after commercials ...if there had been such things in Shakespeare's time. As a result, most of the songs are under a minute in duration and do not have enough time to develop a theme or tune.

Instead, this is almost random utterances by the flute, harp, clarinet and a few stringed instruments that sounds like what is strummed by performers at a local Renaissance Faire. In fact, the only songs that have memorable tunes to them are "Hey Robin, Jolly Robin" and "The Wind And The Rain," both of which are pieces with lyrics and vocals by actors from the play. But even those songs are little more than jigs or jaunty little tunes with simple, repetitive lines like "I am gone, sir, / And anon, sir, / I’ll be with you again, / In a trice, / Like to the old vice" ("I Am Gone, Sir").

Shakespeare's words certainly have a music to them and Dan Meese does a decent job of creating incidental music that sounds like it would be appropriate for the time and place of a Shakespeare play. But songs like "Not Too Fast! Soft, Soft!" are instrumental pieces that seem designed solely to change a mood and out of context, they feel like pieces of a conversation the listener is not privy to the rest of.

In fact, the entire Twelfth Night Soundtrack suffers because the musical snippets lack context, a building theme or even duration long enough to make listeners feel something before the track changes to the next song. This, alas, is the death knell of the album and one which not even Anne Hathaway's dulcet tones may save the album from.

For other soundtrack reviews, please check out my reviews of:
The Red Violin Soundtrack
The Last Of The Mohicans Soundtrack
Magnolia Soundtrack

2/10

For other music reviews, please visit my index page!

© 2011, 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.


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