Summer Hymns - A Celebratory Arm Gesture
(Misra)
The Summer Hymns of Athens, GA combine psychedelic indiepop with American heartland songwriting influences; this second album finds them their sound a little bit brighter than their 1999 debut with more eclectic arrangements and upbeat melodies. A rural Americana feeling blankets the album, though the songs are fleshed out to occasionally sound like a circus.
"After Hours" is a rolling instrumental that merges Olivia Tremor Control-styled psychedelic madness with a Zydeco band washboard sound; the song is brief but delightfully bouncy. Most of the album boasts similar arrangements, whether it's the smoothed-out "I Could Give the World Away" or the Eno-esque "The Daybreak." The latter song has some tasteful sound effects--a day breaking, actually--and it serves as a fitting closure to the record, sublimely complimenting the melodies of the album.
Singer/songwriter Zachary Gresham cites Neil Young as an influence, and "Trolling On the Lake" is evidence of this, sounding like a Harvest outtake. Dottie Alexander's organ fills much of the album, occasionally overpowering the mostly-acoustic guitar strum that characterizes the Summer Hymns with that Southern accent they seem to strive for. Influences aside, the piano-driven ballad "Closure Eyes" sounds distinctly like the Summer Hymns, with a gentle reverb surrounding Gresham's voice and a more refined use of additional instrumentation.
At first listen, Gresham's music seems to be too buried in the xylophones and trombones to have it's own voice and personality. After a few listens, the more subtle delicacies of the Summer Hymns rise to the surface, and the arrangements serve to accent rather than obscure. Recommended.
|
