I try to listen to a number of independent artists as well
as ones signed to labels although I will hardly write about them unless they warrant
high praise. From my sample size, the folk/Americana genre tends to produce the
highest number of independent releases that are painfully uninspiring. For
about the last year the music world has been just emerging from the folk music trend
of minimal instrumentation, all male harmonizing, acoustic ballads, and
melodramatic lyrics. With how over-saturated the folk market was during the
2000s due to a 60s folk revival the genre is in need of innovation and
inspiration from somewhere, but this group of musicians hardly hails form an
area of folk tradition. Chicago has always been a blues town but it is
nonetheless where Hydrangea Benison calls home. Thankfully their new record “The
White Lake” avoids all the tropes and clichés mentioned prior.
Hydrangea Benison do an excellent job with their short first
track, “Molly May & The Drunken Widow” which acts as a nice piece of
foreshadowing for the rest of the album. The instrumental guitar and violin
pieces do an excellent job complimenting and existing within each other. Each
piece has a life of its own yet they seem to be a perfect intertwined match.
The two instruments create an irresistibly catchy folk twang that serve as
Hydrangea Benison’s most effective tool and one they implement throughout the
album without monotony. Tracks like “A Little Hurt”, “Peaches”, and “Rome”
really stand out because of this feature combined with layers of lush
instrumentation. Pianos and keyboards along with timely guitar solos brighten
up the standard folk instruments and create a much fuller experience than
typical folk or Americana records deliver.
Hydrangea Benison used eight vocalists for this record, five
of which are men and three women. The vocal arrangements are crafted cleverly
and uniquely. Because of the numerous vocalists the harmonies stand out from
one another yet still create a familiar sound. “Nights in Heaven” in particular
does this well. Another interesting track is “Five Little Prayers” where a male
and female singer trade off lines with a faint familiarity to “Nothing Better” by the Postal Service. The vocal arrangements will also use a low alto
voice while the singers with a wider range will drive the song’s pace allowing whichever
singer is commanding the microphone at the time to really stand out. The lyrics
provide simple narratives, but remain endearing and honest. Love and longing is
hardly an unexplored topic, but the accounts are delivered in varied styles
that keep the listener engaged.
This band is most enjoyable when they are a maximal and
cohesive unit. They use big instrumentation combined with excellent vocal
harmonies of male and female singers to create exciting climaxes like on “Rome”.
When the violin, electric guitar, and vocals are all wailing at the same time
the band sounds so large it cannot be helped but to join in the catharsis
similar to the way Arcade Fire’s first album feels. For a moment on this song Hydrangea
Benison captured that type of energy which proves to be extremely difficult on
a recording. It is when the group moves away from this formula and creates the slower
more minimal songs that the album becomes less engaging. The ballad tracks like
“Wayfaring Stranger” and “Garnet Stones” are clearly included to change the mood, but remain the less
interesting tracks on this offering. In this regard “Bonsoir Lune” redeems the
other ballads a bit. The contrast of the trickling piano and the swinging
vocals that detail a parting of two lovers creates an appropriate closer.
When this band maximizes the potential of their litany of
musicians, Hydrangea Benison functions at their largest and most powerful. Fans
of a more rock oriented style of folk and Americana should enjoy this record
which reminded me endlessly of the first Houdmouth record. Part of the fun of
independent artists is following them in hopes that one day they break out. This
is a group that would be worth keeping an eye on, especially because of how
young the members are and how much growth was shown on this recording.
7.5/10
-
Tom K.
6/25/2015
Check out the album here: https://soundcloud.com/hydrangea-benison/sets/the-white-lake
Hydrangea Benison Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hydrangea-Benison/721985931190192
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