Tuesday, May 12, 2009

American Bands with Canadian Names:: Auld Lang Syne

I already know what you are going to say. "Herohill, you’re always talking about how Canadian you are. What’s the deal with you fakes jumping south of the border?" Well, today – the second post will come later – we are talking about two bands that reached out to us and alerted us of their Canadian tie-ins.

First up are herohill favs, Auld Lang Syne. Based in Rochester, this outfit is one-fifth Canadian like most tech companies in the US and the Phoenix Suns starting line-up (and I don’t hear any Canadians distancing themselves from Nash and his brood). In typical hill-nonsense fashion, this will probably be the only time you will hear Auld Lang Syne and the fast breaking Suns in the same sentence, as the quintet from upstate NY tends to move at a much slower pace, but don't mistake that for laziness or relaxation. Every note the band plays is treated like it could be their last.

Honestly, everything about Auld Lang Syne shows a great appreciation for music and you get the feeling the band cherishes the fact they get the chance to jump on stage and sing. Their debut LP – Midnight Follies – is one of the nicest packages you’ll stumble across. Beautiful artwork, hand lettered track listings, and page after page of photos; the NYers put their heart and soul into this record. But more importantly, the songs are terrific.

Whether it's an intense country rocker or a slow burning ballad, as soon as they start to play, you are consumed by their intensity. They explode out of the gate with a frantic number (Long Number) that hits you in the mouth, the quickly move to the body and attacks the most susceptible organ… your heart. Rusty Prayer barely gets past walking pace thanks to the keep time drums, steel and piano notes, but Dick’s weary vocals and swells of harmonica build slowly and confidently. You feel like you are part of the experience, as if the band is reliving each painful emotion in front of you, unable to let it go.

Our songs are rooted in the places where we were born & raised, & the places we’ve been grafted onto since, & the people & things we’ve seen & cannot forget. We work to make them simple & truthful, & work to make them sweet in the ears of anyone who needs them, whether their luck’s been good & stayed good, or their traveling’s been hard.

After reading Timothy’s description of their work, I’m not sure I needed to write any of my own thoughts on their work. It’s painfully obvious where their songs come from and what they mean to the band. Family, home, memories, and pain: these aren’t the type of things that you cram into singles or cut short just to make it easier to digest. No, ALS knows if a song takes nine-minutes to say what it needs to say, well, so be it. They’d be cheating the emotion they felt writing it by trying to lighten the load for all of us. The barely audible, multi-layered vocals that move slowly alongside the smoldering guitar work of Greasy Horse should warm the soul of any Kozalek fan, but the nicely executed build and instrumentation that kicks in after the song breaks the 5-minute mark is breathtaking.

Even the single - My First Soul - breaks the 8-minute mark. The acoustic and harmonica could be found floating on any porch you happen to stumble on, but from the outset, Timothy’s gruff vocals push the song forward. The drum that echoes in the distance gives the song a powerful heartbeat, but it’s the simple truth of the chorus that gets you. “It’s not like it used to be.” I know they add in some nice swirling group vocals to change up the tempo, but if you aren't inspired by the singular focus of those seven words, I'm not sure what to say. Normally an eight-minute song is full of wasted notes and pointless ideas, but every second on My First Soul seems as important as the one before it and the one that follows.

It quickly becomes obvious that ALS don’t need hooks or choruses to keep you interested. The can follow some of their most spirited numbers with gospel like confessionals (Four Rivers) without losing any of the energy they build so patiently. I know with the rise in popularity of The Avetts (who the band is playing a few shows with later this year) is going to help get the band some attention - so is the Avettsesque melody that starts Where My Fortune Lies - but this band deserves to be heard and loved for the strength of their songs. If you can't close your eyes and feel the sway of the crowd on the powerful Red Feather, I'm not sure why you are reading music blogs. That song, like this band, is one you hold close to your heart.