'sailor' | hem
a couple of years ago i saw hem's debut, 'rabbit songs,' on a border's listening station. i didn't know the first thing about them, but the cover looked interesting and different so i slapped the headphones on and pushed 'play.'
what happened next was nothing short of transcendental. i stood there mesmerized as i listened to track after track, completely taken with sally's voice, the impeccably arranged songs [and the band's obvious song writing skills], and the way 'sailor' [and particularly the french horn that comes in mid-way] completely took me to another place i had never planned on going to [warning: you many need a kleenex or two after listening to it]. i think i went back and listened to 'rabbit songs' five or six times during the next couple of weeks. i finally did pick up a used copy at amoeba records [i know, i know -- it's terrible. way to support the band, matt] a year or two later.
it's odd, though, 'cos this isn't the kind of stuff i normally listen to. at all. but a beautiful song is a beautiful song, regardless of any preconceived notions of 'genre.' but that's maybe that's what makes hem so beguiling -- they don't fit into any genre. great music, in my opinion, shouldn't. it should speak for itself, be free from tags, labels, assignations, and pigeonholing. that's precisely what hem does and what hem is. and that's why they're not merely good, but great.
go buy 'rabbit songs.' now. you'll be glad you did.
→ hem: sailor
→ hem: half acre
→ hem: leave me here
a couple of years ago i saw hem's debut, 'rabbit songs,' on a border's listening station. i didn't know the first thing about them, but the cover looked interesting and different so i slapped the headphones on and pushed 'play.'
what happened next was nothing short of transcendental. i stood there mesmerized as i listened to track after track, completely taken with sally's voice, the impeccably arranged songs [and the band's obvious song writing skills], and the way 'sailor' [and particularly the french horn that comes in mid-way] completely took me to another place i had never planned on going to [warning: you many need a kleenex or two after listening to it]. i think i went back and listened to 'rabbit songs' five or six times during the next couple of weeks. i finally did pick up a used copy at amoeba records [i know, i know -- it's terrible. way to support the band, matt] a year or two later.
it's odd, though, 'cos this isn't the kind of stuff i normally listen to. at all. but a beautiful song is a beautiful song, regardless of any preconceived notions of 'genre.' but that's maybe that's what makes hem so beguiling -- they don't fit into any genre. great music, in my opinion, shouldn't. it should speak for itself, be free from tags, labels, assignations, and pigeonholing. that's precisely what hem does and what hem is. and that's why they're not merely good, but great.
go buy 'rabbit songs.' now. you'll be glad you did.
→ hem: sailor
→ hem: half acre
→ hem: leave me here
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