Hardly Electronic

by The Essex Green

Overview

After a long, long break between albums, the Essex Green's Hardly Electronic kicks off with a song that instantly reminds listeners why the band was so great in its prime. "Sloane Ranger" is classic Essex Green with its loping rhythm, gently strummed guitars, naggingly catchy organ, and above all the voices of Christopher Ziter and Sasha Bell singing the tender lyrics with heartfelt sweetness and woody soul. It's an auspicious start that the rest of the record follows up on and then some. The time off has done nothing to dim the writing and arranging skills the band had honed to a fine point; if anything, the time off seems to have given them a little more urgency and focus. Hardly Electronic feels like their overall best-sounding album, with a sonic richness that belies the somewhat fragmented nature of its recording. With members in different parts of the country and in different stages of life, it's hard to get the band together for weeks at a time to make a record. They definitely found a way around their hurdles and have come up with a rich and full-sounding album that feels like a throwback to the golden age of indie chamber pop, while still feeling smack up to date, as the track "Don't Leave It in Our Hands," which has punk energy, shouted vocals, and a desperate political undertone, shows. The interplay between Ziter and Bell's vocals is a highlight, the guitar work of Jeff Baron is economically exciting, and the little bits of arrangement magic (the billowing vocal harmonies on "January Says," the thrilling liftoff on the chorus of "Catatonic," the cornpone guitar licks on "Bye Bye Crow") sprinkled throughout the album make for a delightful listen. Even when Bell's songs take a dark turn, as they often do, or when the band leans hard into melancholy, the album has a lightness that makes it easy to digest and a joy to get lost in. It's close to being their best work, if not right there, and it's certainly a joy to hear Bell's enchanting vocals again. Just like it's a treat to experience the relaxed majesty the band lends to the production and arrangement of its songs; just like it's truly heartwarming to follow the ups and downs of the moods the band sends through the speakers so gracefully. The Essex Green may the kind of under-the-radar band that could disappear for a decade without too many people wondering where they had gone; one spin of Hardly Electronic is enough to make that seem like a mistake. The record is good enough, and the band skilled enough, that even one year without a new album from them would feel like an eternity. ~ Tim Sendra

Product Details

Release Date:	06/29/2018
Label:	Merge
UPC:	0673855063317
Rank:	85314

Tracks

1. Sloane Ranger
2. The 710
3. Don't Leave It in Our Hands
4. In the Key of Me
5. Modern Rain
6. Catatonic
7. Patsy Diamond
8. Bye Bye Crow
9. Another Story
10. Bristol Sky

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Essex Green   Primary Artist
Caroline O'Connor   Featured Artist
Jeremy Frederick   Featured Artist
Steve Hadeka   Featured Artist
Steve Sawyer   Featured Artist
Bill Mullins   Featured Artist
Adam Frehm   Featured Artist
Nelson Caldwell   Featured Artist
Michael Bradshaw   Featured Artist
Lowell Thompson   Featured Artist
Kevin Thaxton   Featured Artist
Ryan Maynes   Featured Artist
Emma Fern   Featured Artist
Margot Van Horne   Featured Artist
David Douglas   Featured Artist

Technical Credits

Fred Kevorkian   Mastering
Sasha Bell   Group Member
Matt Boynton   Mixing
The Essex Green   Composer
Christopher Ziter   Group Member
Jeff Baron   Group Member