On 04.20.10, In Live Shows, By Audrey Culver
On 03.18.10, In Live Shows, By Audrey Culver
This will be a very special stripped-down set. Sidewalk Cafe only holds some 50-60 people, so show up early as to not miss this intimate appearance!
Plus… it’s FREE!
On 10.28.09, In Buzz & Bustle, Live Shows, By Audrey Culver
In early October, I travelled from New York across the Hudson to see two of my favorite Brooklyn acts, Holly Miranda and The Antlers, perform at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, New Jersey. Also on the bill that night was a band of which I was unfamiliar, called Family of the Year. Due to the fact that more often than not, three-act bills contain one band that is far less than stellar, my expectations for Family of the Year hovered around the non-existent mark.
As the six members of the band took the stage, full of smiles and playful banter, they collectively beamed with giddiness and exuded a somewhat hippy aesthetic straight out of the early- to mid-’70s. At that point, my skepticism couldn’t have been stronger.
But then they started to play.
Family of the Year’s sound could best be described as New Millennial Fleetwood Mac, for there is something familiar, yet something quite new and refreshing about them. Like mid-‘70s Lindsey Buckingham/ Stevie Nicks-era Fleetwood Mac, FOTY have wonderful male/female lead vocals (by guitarist Joe Keefe and Vanessa Jeanne Long) who not only sound captivating individually, but whose voices compliment each other perfectly throughout their ever-present harmonies.
With catchy melodies, complex song structure and lyrics that can make you smile, then break your heart at the turn of a phrase, the band plays with the confidence and polish of consummate professionals who never seem to notice that they’re actually working for a living. The band (which also includes guitarist James Buckey, bassist Brent Freaney, Christina Schroeter on keys and Seb Keefe on drums and an occasional acoustic guitar) exudes the kind of joy on stage that is wonderfully infectious, and by the end of their set, I was officially a fan.
Of course, a live band does not always translate well as a studio band, so before I declared Family of the Year one of 2009’s greatest discoveries, I had to first listen to their EP, “Where’s the Sun.”
The opening track, “Let’s Go Down” is the absolute perfect introduction, for it conveys their laid back vibe and everything that’s wonderful about them. Thematically, it seems to sum up the way their live show makes you feel, as if everyone should take a collective break and enjoy life, “Let’s go to the river. Let’s go to the creek. Let’s go down in the water and cool off this hot week.” But, there’s also a tinge of the subversive which is quite refreshing, “Let’s drink some holy water and get ourselves all baked. Grab the old guitar, and your mama’s blanket, and a book about serial killers that I can read.”
The following track, “Castoff,” is a brilliant second dose, for not only does it slow everything down, but it introduces Long’s lead vocals, which are extremely expressive, with a little twang and rasp in her higher register. And through her stirring delivery, she conveys a sense of pain and yearning for a past lover that’s completely heartbreaking, “Did you find the promise land or did you settle for less?”
In late October, I had the opportunity to catch their CMJ Showcase at The Living Room, but this time with expectations sky high. Was it a fluke? Could they recapture that magic I sensed at Maxwell’s and on their EP? A music industry-heavy crowd on a Wednesday evening is a very different animal than a drunk Hoboken crowd on a Saturday night, but I was very pleased to witness the crowd’s reactions between songs grow from applause early on to enthusiastic cheers as the set progressed.
Their song, “Let’s Be Honest,” which will be on their full-length album due in November, is by far the highlight of their live show and is an all-out showcase for everything that is brilliant about Family of the Year. Joe Keefe and Vanessa Jeanne Long’s back-and-forth, playful vocals, the upbeat tempo, and an extended jam that builds to an amazing crescendo of beats and guitars and dancing, makes the tune a proverbial show-stopper. And watching the exuberance of the band members, especially Seb Keefe on drums, who seems to be an embodiment of any number of the joyous, animated, drummers circa late-’60s/ early-‘70s Saturday morning TV, is an absolute pleasure to behold.
Family of the Year is the sort of band for which CMJ Showcases are made. Fresh on the scene, they were given the opportunity to impress a crowd of music industry professionals and they did exactly that.
This is definitely a band to watch, for there is undoubtedly great success looming larger on their horizon. And if they keep impressing audiences as they’ve done and continue to unabashedly share their modern take on Peace, Love, Unity and Respect, in 2010, Family of the Year may just end up being the Band of the Year.
“Let’s Go Down” by Family of the Year
MP3: “Let’s Go Down”
On 10.17.09, In Amazing Albums, By Audrey Culver
NOTE: The following article contains spoilers for those who have not seen the album’s accompanying 50-minute film.
Charlie Fink, songwriter, guitarist and lead vocalist of the UK-based Noah and the Whale got his heart broken, but instead of writing a straight-forward “break-up album,” he went a step further, and like a true artist, took the feelings of pain and sorrow to the extreme. The resulting film and album, “The First Days of Spring,” is a work of profound anguish, and is no mere “break-up album.” Fink has wrapped the feelings of his broken heart into a tragic, fictional tale about the death of one’s soulmate. It’s about the emptiness that haunts the shell of a man as he attempts to carry on with his life, searching in vain for fleeting glimpses of hope that are beaten down by the reality of his ever-present hopelessness, knowing that the best woman to ever grace his presence is forever gone.
This overriding theme of death and an ultimately false sense of hope make the album an incredibly difficult listen. Knowing that, in the end, the protagonist has never truly lived after the death of his lover, Diane, and that he finally does commit suicide in order to be reunited with her, give the songs on the album that mention hope, such as the title track and “Blue Skies,” a more poignant layer of sorrow.
The album is anchored by the buoyant centerpiece, “Love of an Orchestra,” however after seeing the film, it is clear that this song is the most joyous ode to suicide ever written: “If you gotta run, run from hope.” The reason he’s so happy is because he’s finally found the inner strength to end his pain and kill himself, and therefore, to be reunited with Diane. Only after he finds that inner strength can he sing, “I know I’ll never be lonely, I’ve got songs in my blood. I’m carrying all the love of an orchestra,” which he sings just before drowning himself, something he has contemplated for decades.
Prior to seeing the film, songs that initially seemed to be about his lost love are revealed to actually be written to a second woman, his current wife. So, when he sings words such as, “I don’t think that I ever loved you, but the world is dying to meet you,” they’re like a dagger in the heart because in essence, he’s telling his wife that he never loved her, but it’s not her fault; she’s a wonderful woman and now that he has killed himself, she’ll have the chance to show the world how lovely she is.
Another song with new meaning is “Stranger,” a song that initially sounded like it was about him sleeping with another woman for the first time after a breakup, but regretting it because he was still in love with the past lover. Of course, now that it’s known that he’s singing about sleeping with the first woman after his soulmate has died, it makes the lyrics much more striking. He feels guilty, as if he has somehow cheated on Diane. “Last night I slept with a stranger for the first time since you’ve gone. Regretfully, lying naked, I reflect on what I’ve done.” His discomfort is raw and vivid, as he is stuck in a moment from which he so desperately wants to escape. “Her leg still forced in between mine, sticking to my skin. Stroking my chest and my hair, head resting below my chin.” And in that moment, he wants to die, “I’m a fox trapped in the headlights, and I’m waiting for the tires to spin over me. ‘Cause everything I loved has gone away.”
This morbid, hopeless tone permeates the album and because of this, it makes it an extremely difficult listen. But, not all art can be joyous, and the absolute beauty that is “The First Days of Spring” begs to be heard again and again.
Noah and the Whale may possibly have recorded one of the very best albums of 2009, and unquestionably one of the most melancholy albums of all time. But on this sophomore effort, they have proven themselves to be a band of great profundity and it can only be imagined what sonic and lyrical depths Mr. Fink will impart when he inevitably falls in love again and his hope- his true, unquestionable hope- is restored.
“Stranger” by Noah and the Whale
MP3: “Stranger”
EVENTS
On Sunday, November 1st, Charlie Fink will be presenting a screening of the film, “The First Days of Spring,” followed by a Q&A, at Pianos on Ludlow.
Then, the band will be having a special three-night residency at New York’s Mercury Lounge on November 2nd, 3rd and 4th.