Artist: Lumineers, The
Label: Dualtone
Release: 2012
Running time: 42:19
Rating: 4/5
Trends whipped up by the merciless hand of corporations are an interesting thing. You’re stomping in the dust of 1930s Prohibition, keeping time with hand claps and belting out the most worn-out traditional song of the first convoy of settlers, who wiped out old Native American history and drew up a new one…. That’s right! The trend is tapping into the national feelings of the masses. If Marcus Mumford can rampage across Great Britain with his bleeding heart, the other side of the Atlantic needs a fitting answer too, even though one Mumford is plenty.
Americana in the »back to the roots« tradition. The Lumineers – a sort of link that has merged indie and folk – are very good at it. Actually, very sincere in what they do. With their debut they come across as far more naive, vulnerable and genuine than the glossy-polished third album from Mumford And Sons. Then again, Mumford and co. were just as naive and vulnerable on their debut. The Lumineers do things the »American« way. A mix of country, blues and Americana, all played on traditional instruments, with a vocal planted front and center that’s being torn apart by all that pain. The verses lean heavily on fond memories of carefree youth, plenty of bleeding love confessions and, last but not least, preaching that draws on spiritual gospel chants, like the song Dead Sea.
Polka rhythms (Stubborn Love), straight-up hammered drum-corps military marches, or simple hand clapping (Submarines, Ho Hey). Take your pick. Truly bare, roughly hewn rhythms, as primal as it gets when you’re flirting with the roots of traditional American folk music. While the acoustic guitars cover most of the accompaniment with a few elementary chord grips, the vocal is most often joined in dialogue by violin, cello or banjo (Flapper Girl, Charlie Boy). The song Ho Hey, which became a huge hit to this day and helped The Lumineers climb very high already with their debut, is an example of a winning formula. If I may be a little wickedly mischievous, imagine going to a The Lumineers show and watching vocalist Wesley Keith Schultz, in the style of a soulful pastor, split the crowd into a left side and a right side. The left is »Ho« and the right is »Hey«. You’re probably barely able to wait to become »Ho« or »Hey«.
Okay, back to Ho and Hey on a slightly more serious note. The song is actually very good. You can tell the band put it together totally unpretentiously, with no plan of it ever becoming a hit. The alternating shouts from the crowd, »Ho« from the left and »Hey« from the right, fit beautifully in the chorus and are really the heart of what makes the song’s message land. This very song works as the turning point of the album, since from here on it gets even richer and more infectious in its message. The three tracks that follow, Slow It Down, Stubborn Love and Big Parade, are examples of how brilliantly the emotional temperament of singer Wesley Keith Schultz comes through, radiating the grandeur of authenticity with a story charged with pain, which on the flip side also looks toward the future with optimism.
The genuine character of Ho Hey, which later became a big hit, is backed up by the fact that the rest of the songs are on the same creative level. You’ll have to pick your favorites yourself. That means the band really has poured sincere love of music into every track on the album. And the authentic, naturally sounding tone of the record can’t hide that in any way. This album will definitely appeal to fans of Bob Dylan on one hand, and to fans of »blue grass« on the other.
Tugging at the heartstrings of American citizens is also front and center in the songs Charlie Boy and Flapper Girl, where the verses touch on the figure of J.F. Kennedy, and in Flapper Girl even on his final ride in a big Cadillac. Somewhere near the start of this review the word »rock« popped up. There isn’t much of it here, but the guitar cuts loose with a few more electric decibels in the closing Morning Song, a clear example of indie attitude fusing with the folk roots of America. Arcade Fire? Ah, nothing, nothing,… it was just a flash, heh, heh, heh,…
So The Lumineers are the next candidate for support act on Bob Dylan’s new tour. In fact, what catapulted the band to the big leagues was a few spins of Ho Hey on rotation at one of the bigger radio stations in Seattle. The band originally signed with the small indie label Dualtone, but when Decca Records then takes over distribution of the debut for the whole world, you know what time it is.
Let’s hope The Lumineers hold on to the authenticity of their debut as long as possible and carry it over into future releases. They were certainly very lucky in breaking through toward the top of the global mainstream. Chasing the trends of the big labels is one thing, but the other is that they simply happened to have the song Ho Hey »on hand«. The US is teeming with similar club bands digging around in the roots of the American folk tradition. Plenty of them better and more interesting than The Lumineers. But fate picked them. And »The Lumineers« is a really lovely record. Precisely because of its sincerity and its great authentic attitude! So let’s hope it doesn’t get watered down.
Lineup
Wesley Keith Schultz – vocals, guitar
Jeremiah Caleb Fraites – drums, percussion, mandolin, backing vocals
Neyla Pekarek – cello, mandolin, piano, backing vocals
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Stelth Ulvang – piano, accordion, mandolin, backing vocals
Ben Wahamaki – bass guitar
Lauren Jacobson -violin
Adam Trachsel – double bass, electric bass
Maxwell Hughes – “fingerstyle” guitar
Production
Ryan Hadlock
Tracklist
1. Flowers In You Hair
2. Classy Girls
3. Submarines
4. Dead Sea
5. Ho Hey
6. Slow It Down
7. Stubborn Love
8. Big Parade
9. Charlie Boy
10. Flapper Girl
11. Morning Song
