The sophomore album by the
self-proclaimed hippie group looking to have derived from the depths of a 1960s
commune hits back to their roots of folk country by crooning nine tracks
centering on love, god, and church. The introductory song into the minimalist concept brings flavor of the Johnny Cash taste by stating he is a “Man on Fire”
burning through the faux-1960s hippie communal roots. The entire band as a
whole is apparent in the first few tracks of the album by integrating Alexander
Ebert (lead vocals) without riding his coat tails and including the female
vocalist Jade Castrinos. Although the bands membership ranges in the double
digits, a few songs sound as if they were recorded on tape in a Catskill cabin
by a lone foot tapper and his wife.
Edward
and gang step up to the plate to hit the genre of hippie folk country blues at
a different angle by infusing lo fi recording with highly idealistic production
and song writing. It’s clear the band looked back at their earlier work and
found their strengths (duets i.e. “Home”) and elaborated upon them while
writing and recording Here. There was
an unsettled feeling of style left from the first album Up From Below because the band jumped from style to style from song
to song and never really committed to one. I enjoyed this aspect of the first
album because of the variety of songs and the chance the band took producing. The
band failed to take any more chances on the album Here, besides the apparent infusion of religious lyrics. In
contrast with the bands earlier work, the first few tracks of Here can be nostalgic at best, but after
nine tracks of repetitive style the variety we fell in love with is sadly
missed. The albums southern gospel theme works in that the songs uplift,
inspire, and attach themselves with their catchy choruses and repetitive hymnal
praises. Melodic and re-verb ridden guitars set the tone, while palm-muted strokes
and soft percussion rattle along the songs at an easy pace. Edward & the Zeros
dabble in the arts of blues, southern gospel country blues and old-timey git fiddlin,
creating an ease of passage into the hearts of their more monotheistic listeners.
