Gift Five – Hosh
February 18, 2008
Greetings, I had a few things on the burner for The Collective. However, I felt that a playlist was a touch ambitious for me (I find myself to be the novice in this group I have neither Teresa’s MANY, MANY YEARS of experience nor Kate’s creativity . . .) So I wanted to just offer up an album that I came across this past week. I have listened through it a few times and I like it. I think a lot of different things about it, but I will save that for the comments . . .
Here is what their website says:
The New Frontiers are a band on the front lines of this battle with their debut full-length offering, Mending; they wisely let their music do the talking. Sonically, the band once known as Stellamaris offers up their take on a quieter, more introspective brand of indie rock. Anchored by singer Nathan Pettijohn’s emotive vocal delivery, and complemented in kind by an equally skilled Dallas-based supporting troupe, The New Frontiers present tunes with a quiet sense of majesty that still manage to pack a colossal emotional footprint. Their pacing is deliberate, but never sedate and their sound is at once both contemporary and traditional. The overall musical stew is one that combines dashes of alt-country, brit-rock, and indie-pop (among others) towards a final mélange sure to win over sets of ears for years to come.
From the opening swells of “Black Lungs,” Mending grabs a hold of its listener, but not at all in a forceful, brutish way. It is instead the type of prompting that begs for acquiescence, and the rest of the LP only cements that notion. Whether it is in the heartbreaking emotion of “The Day You Fell Apart” or the patient reflection of “Man Down,” The New Frontiers pack an abundance of poignancy into their entrance onto the world’s stage. It is all necessary, though, as exposure to the work’s later pieces requires preparation. For as listeners delve into the unassuming anthemics of “Mirrors,” the sparse acoustic/falsetto magnetism of “Passing On,” the sweeping grandeur of “This Is My Home,” and the ethereal moodiness of “Walking On Stones,” it is readily apparent that this is not your typical radio-rock fodder. This is not to say that the tracks on Mending wrestle with issues of accessibility, instead that they maintain a profound depth beneath their lustrous surface appeal.
Songs:
Black Lungs
The Day You Fell Apart
Who Will Give Us Love?
I am getting the feeling that no one likes this album . . . I like the sound. I feel that it is a touch generic indie sounding.
When I was listening through the playlist, I was enjoying each song, especially The Day You Fell Apart. But then I got to Who Will Give Us Love and was shocked to find out that this was a “Christian” band. Wow. Way to go New Frontiers, you have accomplished sounding like a indie band that i would be interested in and surprising me by being Christian. This is a rare event. I am not at all opposed to Christian music, but unfortunately it tends to posses a certain typical sound and quality to it, making it easy to identify. The New Frontiers have found a way to overcome this easy-to-spot sound making them muck more genuine in my book.
Hosh, are they Christian as in Sufjan Stevens, Eisley, Pedro the Lion, ect. or actually on a Christian label?
I am so down with Christians who are simply making music- no “Christian” or “secular” label needed.
Thanks for this gift, Hosh, I really enjoyed it and may even pick up the album from the library!
editors note: “muck” should be “much”. Please forgive my inability to type.
I will do a lot better next time. It will be a mix and it will be ambitious that is for sure. Probably over-ambitious if I know myself.
I definitely liked this group. I like the Californa, “Horse With No Name”-type influence I’m hearing. Somewhat melancholy without being depressing. Nice American music feel in the choruses.