Customer Reviews

Funnel Cloud

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hem's last full album of new songs, Eveningland, was hauntingly beautful but suffered from overproduction. It was if all the engery was bottled up and they didn't want to let it out.

Not so here. Funnel Cloud sparkles with both beauty and energy. Even the slower songs like the title track tremble with an energy evocotive of their live performances. Meanwhile, the beautiful melodies keep on coming -- He Came to Meet Me and Reservior may be two of their best songs, ever.

If you've heard any of their previous releases, you know that Hem doesn't make loud, brash music. This release continues their previous albums' quietly elegant tone. They wisely cut back on the string sections this time around. The songwriters put a lot of thought into each of the songs and Sally Ellyson is the perfect voice for them.

I've never heard this band before until today. I read some recommendations from some reviews. All I can say is that I "LOVE" it!
The whole album is Sophisticated, Contemporary and very smart. I have not even finished the cd yet, and my favorite track is the silky vocals on "He Came To Meet Me". Even though this is a new album for me, I'm putting it at the top with my other favorites of "folk/singer songwriter/Indie Rock"...like Joni Mitchell, Kate Wolf, Gillian Welch and Shawn Colvin.

I heard about Hem on NPR, and bought Funnel Cloud soon after. I'd never heard them before. I love this CD and am happy to find a new group to listen to. "The Pills Stopped Working" is my favorite song. The other songs are soft, mellow, beautifully written. The music is rich and complex. I look forward to hearing more of Hem.

I bought this album on a whim (and based on very good reviews). I have not been disappointed. Where did this group come from? If you like Shawn Colvin, Wailin Jennys, other female singer/songwriters - you will like this group. Most of the songs are pretty mellow, but well written with great instrumental (piano and/or strings) back up.

Hem was reviewed by the music critic on NPR when they first put out their original CD and didn't really consider themselves a real band. But the response to their CD was significant and well deserved, more or less signaling to the band that they had new lives. As talented as they all are musically, they are held together by the hauntingly delightful female vocal, whose voice is addictive. Their third CD, Home Again Home Again, is also outstanding and you should purchase that immediately, too.

But this fourth CD, Funnel Cloud, knocked me over. Tracks one and two are SO fine and then track three, Not California, would be worn out were it not a digital file. The entire CD is remarkable. "Not California" has a an official video promo on youtube, complete with beautifully filmed vintage looking NYC footage and the band performing. If you don't know Hem, watch this video and you will know their charm and significance.

Buy this CD, Funnel Cloud. Buy Home Again, then get their first two CDs, Rabbit and Eveningland. They are one of my favorite bands right now and are as musically rich as they are satisfying, deeply so.

This is the greatest CD I own recorded in the last 30 years. Every song is beautiful, haunting, hopeful, and full of emotion. The lyrics are among the best ever written, in my opinion. The music is divine. Sit back on a rainy day, open up the booklet and read the lyrics for a beautiful experience. Recommended for anyone who loves music.

As a big fan of Hem's Rabbit Songs, I was somewhat surprised at the more pronounced country stylings of Funnel Cloud. Whereas Rabbit Songs seemed to live somewhere between folk and moody pop with a few country-flavored instruments (pedal steel, banjo), parts of Funnel Cloud almost seem aimed at country radio. Still, there are enough highlights to make this a solid purchase for fans of the singer-songwriter genre as well as country music.

Probably one of the best bands most people have never heard of. The playing...the voice...the songwriting. Hem = Gem. Buy it. You won't regret it.