One of the greatest crossroads in the avenue of storytelling and music in my opinion is the virtual band. Bands that only exist on a purely narrative level as a character of sorts for artists to try out different ideas or just create something wholly unique. Some of the most popular throughout the years have included The Chipmunks, The Archies, The Gorillaz, and Now I’m adding Neon Horse to that list.
Neon Horse is the brainchild of guitar wiz and indie rock legend (at least in some circles) Jason Martin along with vocalist Mark Salomon. I actually had the opportunity to interview Mark Salomon and he mentioned that the intention when creating this band was to be an old school Christian rock band but with the twist of everything being a little distorted and off kilter. In this the band succeeded brilliantly, particularly on their second album “Haunted Horse” which is equal parts grandiose 70’s arena rock, surreal imagery, and Sunday School. That’s right on this album you get to hear Norman Horse (the alter ego Mark Salomon created for the project, just listen for the voice that kind of sounds like he just crawled out of a whisky barrel) give his own spin on classic Sunday School lessons and the results are often weird but still insightful. The album kicks off with “When Daddy Gets Home” giving us the previously mentioned 70’s rock vibe with the drums and guitar providing a wonderful backdrop for Mark’s vocals. And those vocals are honestly the star of the show. Mark Salomon pulls off at least three distinct voices during the whole recording and it truly gives the illusion of multiple vocalists being in the band to such a degree that prior to the identity of the band members becoming more public many reviewers were convinced that there had to be more than one vocalist in the band. The music is a splendid mix of the previously mentioned guitar riffs and drums that particularly stand out on songs like “Strange Town”, “Cell-O-Phone” and “I Don’t Need anything”. In addition we also get some delightful bass work courtesy of Steven Dail that borders close to disco on “Some Folks” and synths that really shine on the electronic heavy “Comin Up Theventh” and when used as a horn line on “Chain Gang, Bang Bang”. These instruments and at times goofy voices all set the stage perfectly for the lyrics of the album. It may not be super obvious if you aren’t familiar but several songs directly reference or recap stories from the Bible. Some of the highlights in this category include “Strange Town” being an interesting spin on The Story of the Prodigal Son, really focusing on the terror he must have felt after running out of money and friends and being stranded in a strange place. “‘Haven’t Sinned In Years!” parallels Jesus’ parable about the vineyard owner who leaves his vineyard to be taken care of by hired help and features some wonderfully manic vocals that may remind you of a circus ringleader. Other lyrics on the album just reference general themes of the Bible such as “I don’t need anything” being on one of my favorite topics, gaining more wealth, more power, more for yourself and then realizing as the book of Ecclesiastes says “Vanity, vanity, it’s all vanity. The song “Chain Gang, Bang Bang” may be my favorite cut on the album where the theme of sin enslaving you is very evident, complete with the sounds of cracking whips and the hilarious but still though provoking line “Everybody come along! We're jumpin' off a cliff! It's only kinda fun – that's why we brought the whip”. Every time I hear this song I can’t help but picture that scene in the original Pinocchio where the boys start turning into donkeys and are led away to work in the mines. Sometimes artists with ideas that seem like they have no chance of working together come together and just make something great. That’s what the people involved with the Neon Horse project did and I can’t help but be impressed especially by this album of theirs that revitalizes tales as old as time and helps me at least to look at things in a new and interesting way while being wildly entertaining. Suggested Tracks: Strange Town ‘Haven’t Sinned In Years! Change Gang, Bang Bang I Don't Need Anything
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Heath McNease is an insanely prolific artist. Between 2012 and 2015 he had no less than 7 releases, alternating between hip-hop, folk music, and mixtapes. In the middle of this breakneck output, he decided to partner with fellow folk musician Jetty Rae for a duet project called “Pen Pals”. The resulting album “Gold” was a bright spot among both artists discography and captured a moment in time perfectly.
The album’s lyrics create a concept album about a brief summer romance and the inevitable heartache that follows. I can’t say I’ve ever heard a song so perfectly reflect the feeling of being 14 and excited about camp as well as the song “Camp”, and the follow up songs perfectly express the feelings of young love and all the emotions that entails. One of my favorite tracks is “Mary & Martha” which has our narrator processing a breakup through the lens of the Biblical story of Jesus saving the women caught in adultery. This mindset is exactly how my teenage brain functioned, processing everything through my faith as it was all I had ever known. The final track “July” brings the story to a close with 20/20 wisdom that only hindsight can bring. Like so many things in life when you are young, sometimes you have to learn the hard way this too shall pass. As stated earlier this all too brief ep is an absolute delight with McNease’s and Rae’s voice’s weaving in and out and ultimately blending so perfectly together. It’s fortunate that these two Pen Pals decided to keep intermittently making music together, but much like your first love, there is something special, innocent, and even golden about this first project they made together. Suggest Tracks: Camp Gold Mary & Martha Zilch is a band that no one seemed to know what to do with. Starting out as part of the backing band for dc talk, it’s telling that they were talented enough for Toby McKeehan to recommended they form their own band. So, vocalist/guitarist Mark Lee Townsend, vocalist/bassist Otto Price, keyboard player/vocalist Jason Halbert, and drummer Rick May started jamming together in a studio. Initially Townsend intended for them to just play songs written by other people but the chemistry they already possessed from touring together, and then playing together in a studio, made original material inevitable.
The songs they ended up recording on their first (and so far only) album “Platinum” are best described by adjectives. Quirky 90’s retro rock come to mind. As does alternative surfer geek rock à la Weezer but with hip hop influences. Whatever you want to call it, this band is 90% vibe, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The music is easily the highlight of the album with surf friendly guitar riffs blending beautifully with blippity bloopy synths and organ. The drums and the bass do a great job anchoring the songs rather they be smooth and chill or upbeat and power pop. There is also a surprising amount of vocal harmonization on this album with all three vocalists taking turns on lead but Mark Lee Townsend’s vocals usually leading on the chorus at the minimum. Mark Lee Townsend has a unique voice that easily carries laid back yet still energetic songs like “Good” and “Surfer Psalm”, the two bookends that tell you everything you honestly need to know about this album, a windows down ride to the beach with Sunday school friendly lyrics. That’s not to say the band never gets serious with songs like “Christiana” (which I think is a play on the word suburbia) and “Bap!” (which sounds like it could have fit nicely on dc talks Jesus Freak) hitting on the more serious topics of apathy towards the rest of the world outside of your Christian bubble and the harm of gossip and unforgiveness. With that said I appreciate that the band overall doesn’t take themselves too seriously with their cover of School House Rock’s “Hero Zero” and it’s follow up “A Brief Note To The General Public” showing off their great sense of humor, with the latter being a great monologue that tears apart in the best way possible those moral guardians (especially in the 80’s and 90’s) who dissect every lyric and guitar tone looking for something that’s corrupting their children rather than just taking things in the spirit intended. Zilch seemed to fall apart as soon as they formed with drummer Rick May only being listed in the album credits and not as a formal member of the band (presumably he didn’t want the additional touring on top of playing for dc talk), and Mark Townsend stepping down only a year after this album was released. Seven Day Jesus guitarist Dwayne Larring and drummer Aaron Blanton along with vocalist Jeff Deyo stepped in to take their place and, in the process, along with Jason Halbert, morphed into the band Sonicflood with Otto Price stepping down after playing on and helping produce their debut album. Sonicflood went on to have their own storied history full of twists and turns, but the band Zilch remained just a footnote, an enigma on the history of what could have been. Mark Townsend has gone on to release at least two songs under the Zilch moniker since (though it’s unclear if any of the other band members were involved), and rumors have a circulated about a possible new album, but for the time being we have this lone gem. Suggest Tracks: Good Christiana Bap! Surfer Psalm Owl City is the brainchild of musical prodigy Adam Young, a Minnesota native who by all accounts loves God, has an overactive imagination, and is a big introvert, all things I can deeply relate to. In 2009 he released a little song called “fireflies” that became a sensation. Suddenly the guy was on the top of the billboards and going on world tours, and somewhere in the middle of all that was expected to write a follow up album to his major label debut “Ocean Eyes” that would meet or even surpass the 500’000 copies sold. That album ended up being “All Things Bright and Beautiful” an LP that trades in it’s beach sandals and summertime fun for a fuzzy blanket and Autumn vibes.
Right off the bat there’s a sense of maturity in the lyrics and music that suggest Adam Young has done a lot of growing up in the time between his debut and this album. The lyrics are far more focused and speak of the awe and wonder of nature as well as the heartbreak of life with far more clarity than before with the opening track “The Real World” being the perfect example of this and also serving as a sudo worship song celebrating the beauty of nature and the wonder of imagination. In the next track “Deer in the Headlights” we get the heartbreak (albeit with tongue firmly planted in cheek) with the metaphor of being rejected feeling like being maced or punched in the face hitting so close to home it almost hurts (no pun intended). However just because things are more serious this time around doesn’t mean that Owl City has lost all it’s charm and whimsy. In fact the whimsical tends to amplify maturity of the music with songs like “Honey and the Bee” and “Plant Life” giving me a strong Beatrix Potter vibe that makes everything feel far more grown up than some pop music I’ve listened to. Elsewhere themes of outer space and faith in God intermingle in tracks like “Angels”, “Galaxy”, and “Alligator Sky” with once again a solid dose of the whimsical keeping everything grounded and from taking itself too seriously. The music is built on a foundation of familiar bubbly, fuzzy, synths that fans of Owl City’s previous projects will undoubtedly know and love. However this time around everything is bigger and fuller with well placed drums that give several songs (particularly in the first half of the album) an almost power pop vibe. Additionally strings make several appearances on songs like “Galaxies”, “Angels” and “Dreams Don’t Turn to Dust” giving them a cinematic (and at times late 90’s alternative pop) feel. Finally we get a solid sprinkling of the experimental on “Kamikaze” with hip hop beats and bizarre lyrics that are either about our spiritual battles or a fun imagination spot about being in an action movie (and then something about comets or something). The hip hop influences also returns when we get a guest rapper on “Alligator Sky”. This is album is best enjoyed on a quiet contemplative October Saturday with a warm cup of tea. Rather your detoxing from a busy week or contemplating the complexities of life this album is a good reminder that in all things, rather good or bad, you can find something bright and beautiful. Recommended Tracks: The Real World Galaxies Alligator Sky Plant Life |
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