I have been seriously slacking on the Friday Music Blogging lately! I plead excess travel. And apologize to the ones and ones of FMB fans out there. Anyway, back to it.
As I’ve said before, fans of beardy music are in hog heaven these days. There is a full-fledged beardy renaissance happening. I’m not sure exactly what started it — I guess you could trace it back to Band of Horses and Fleet Foxes, at least in its recent incarnation — but it is now in full flower. The Avett Brothers, The Head and the Heart, Family of the Year, Of Monsters and Men, Milo Greene … all these bands have recently released albums or will release something this year. All follow the basic beardy template: strummy, stompy, catchy, sing-along music featuring pretty, multi-part, guy-girl harmonies.
I can’t get enough of it! This is one of those genres where I don’t really require excellence. Just the basic template is usually enough to please me. (Everyone has genres like this, right?) As a bonus, the bands in this genre seem relaxed and down to earth, more concerned with honesty and communal experience than pop success. I’m into that as well.
Anyway, this brings us to The Lumineers, a Denver-based band who released their eponymous debut album this month. Though the band itself appears puzzlingly beard-free, the music is beardy to the core, what they describe as “an amalgam of heart-swelling stomp-and-clap acoustic rock, classic pop, and front-porch folk.” And yes, there’s a fetching young lady playing cello and mandolin and singing harmonies. Check!
The music is not exactly revelatory. Your mind will not be blown. It’s just pleasant and hummable. This song, “Classy Girls,” should give you a pretty good sense of what to expect:
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BONUS VIDEO!
Here’s the video for the band’s first big single, “Ho Hey.”
