Burden of Dreams: Holler, Wild Rose!

Holler, Wild Rose!,
Our Little Hymnal,
Backlight Records [9/18/07]

Our Little Hymnal is pseudo-operatic alt-rock in the tradition of Jeff Buckley and Arcade Fire.

I prefer the former to the latter, and while I wouldn't go so far as to say I dislike Holler, Wild Rose!, they don't do a lot for me. I was expecting something lighter, looser, and, well, jauntier by that countrified name—plus, exclamation point!—but this is some pretty serious business.

At times, the New Jersey sextet also recalls U2, Ride, and Rufus Wainwright. The music swells and subsides while John Mosloskie—a superior singer to the atonal Win Butler—intones and testifies.

Clearly, he has important messages to impart. Yet, I can't always make out what he's saying, just snatches, like "I'm the captain of your heart", sung in a supple, expressive voice. If he isn't a trained singer, like Lavender Diamond's Becky Stark, I'll eat my hat. (Or my shoe.)

So, it isn't my thing, but this record was five years in the making, and it shows in the expansive arrangements and performances. A lot of care and feeding went into this thing. I respect that. I don't have to love or even like it, but that doesn't mean other people won't.

Endnote: This is the kind of record KEXP should get behind, but probably won't. I enjoy the station, I really do, but too often they pass on unknown bands unless someone else makes a move first. (There are exceptions, of course, like Pela, their latest fave rave.)

Take the Gossip, for instance. KEXP should've shown their music some love ages ago. Instead, they didn't embrace the Portland
trio until England made them stars. Granted, they were spinning the Scissor Sisters—featuring ex-Seattleite Jake Shears—before their career followed the same trajectory (moderately successful in the US, huge in the UK), but too often they wait for cues from external forces when they should trust their own instincts.

Incidentally, Our Little Hymnal clocks in at 68:26 minutes—now there's some bang for your buck! For more information, please see their official website. Images from their MySpace Page.