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For the past several years, interest has been building slowly behind the Austin trio, Harlem. They upped their own ante by signing to Matador Records for the release of their newest album, Hippies. Behind years of playing whenever and wherever they could, honing their musical chops, Harlem have seemingly created one of the best works of the year (I was afraid to give it a 5 so as not to be accused of a homer).
Entering the album, there’s about thirty seconds of a slight lull during “Someday Soon,” but as the song goes on, the pace quickens, going forward in a ramshackle truckload of fun. The final crashing chorus shows the nonchalant attitude of the band who are always energetically pursuing joy on stage. “Friendly Ghost” (not about a ghost) carries the same mentality, using jangling guitars and a pounding drum to get your foot tapping so hard you might lose it to the sheer enjoyment of the song alone.
Destined to not just rely on lo-fi tendencies and madness, the group do give a nod to a little bit more of a classic rock n’ roll sound, as “Number One” highlights garage rock’s earlier days with gang vocals and certain tendency not to come across too polished. All the while, they maintain their incredible stomp, which may lead to some soreness in the neck after prolonged exposure to this record. “Be Your Baby” is in the exact same ball park, although it doesn’t sound anything at all like the song that precedes it. You will surely be exhausted already by this point, as no band can clearly keep up this blistering pace.
They do. It’s like non-stop furious jangling chords and raucous percussion work. “Gay Human Bones” maintains the pace, and then you find a hint of Nirvana in “Torture Me” (that’s if you are to believe the band’s Myspace). However, there is “Cloud Pleaser.” Rolling gently along for a minute or two, it gives all us listeners a chance to stretch and maybe grab a quick drink of water, but the band can’t stay away too long, ending the song on a faster note, albeit a slightly slower one, comparatively speaking.
You won’t ever find anything dull, though some might say that there are some like-sounding songs, along the way to the end of the record. If you found the first half of the record touched by garage sounds and carefree recording, then you’ll be surprised that there is a dark psychedelia lying at the second half. “Prairie My Heart” has a darker soul to it than some of the previous number, leading you to believe that Harlem has more tricks up their sleeve. So they do, as “Pissed” clearly isn’t like many other things on the record, yet it fits right along the rest of the tracks. Personally, it just reminds me of Love if Arhtur Lee was a whole lot more “pissed”, and didn’t have that spectacular voice.
Really, this record is fantastic. It moves along at such a quick pace that you have to go back several times to make sure you loved that one song as much as you did when you first heard it. Truth is, you will love it, possibly more so. Hard to find a bad song on this record that can’t stand on its own merit, which makes Hippies one of the best works to come out in 2010. Truth.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Harlem-Friendly-Ghost.mp3]
Download: Harlem – Friendly Ghost [MP3]
Cats of Transnistria are currently working on their second album, and while the work progresses, they’ve shared this tune as a peak at what’s to come. It’s an experiment in minimalist pop, offering little more than a single note and the powerful voice; it doesn’t need much more to carry the song’s natural beauty. As the track unfolds, tiny touches of strings and piano float in and out, creating a beautiful haunted atmosphere that will take you off into the ether. Looks like album number two is going to be pretty remarkable!
