Customer Reviews

Hampton's Lullaby

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

 

 

...Don't get me wrong I love the first 2 KOL albums. I loved the first 2 Band of Horses albums. However, the Futurebirds have done with Hampton's Lullaby what both bands wish they did with their 3rd albums on their very first. Much in the vein of My Morning Jacket's first 3 albums this release is filled with joyous and dark southern soul. It's reverb laden guitars and harmonized vocals mix with the rhythmic grittiness in a way that makes you feel like you are being hugged by a grizzly bear smelling like a campfire. But it doesn't end there. Flashes of Dinosaur Jr., Broken Social Scene are heard on the triumphant "Yur Not Dead," and the country expansiveness of "Ski Chalet," never gives up on the bands' Athens drenched roots. The pedal steel flourishes are a standard for almost each track, as is banjo and mandolin but nothing overwhelms, they all add to the delicate beauty accented on each song. If you like all of the bands I've listed in this review you'll know what you're in for. DL their self-titled EP if you have doubts (it's free) as it follows the same medium of the album. Favorite tracks so far: Johnny Utah, APO and Happy Animals. One reviewer on this world wide web compared one of those 3 songs as sounding eerily Bon-Joviish; don't listen to that reivewer, there is nothing on this album that sounds that way. This album is well worth it.

I can't stop listening to this album. The Futurebirds came highly recommended from a dear friend of mine from Athens and I'm glad gave them a chance. I agree completely with the previous reviewer's My Morning Jacket and Kings Of Leon comparisions. Everything I like about KOL's first 3 albums and MMJ's early albums are present on this ablum, plus the added element of the steel guitar. But don't go jumping to conclusions and buy this CD expecting to hear KOL/MMJ sing a longs, Futurebirds have their own unique sound. "Sam Jones" and "Ski Chalet" are probably my favorite two songs but I can turn it up and listen to this CD from start to finish and enjoy every minute. Buy this album.

I checked out this band, knowing nothing about them, simply because they are playing Bonnaroo and no other band was playing during their time slot that I wanted to see. Boy was I surprised to discover- from the first song on this album all the way through to the last- one of the most developed, complete sounding debut albums from any band I have heard in a long time.
Comparisons are plenty- Neil Young, early Wilco, early My Morning Jacket, hints of Kings of Leon, even some racuous Replacements seep in during the last track- but when all is said and done, the sound is consistent and it is the sound of a rock band with country flavor who knows how to let loose. The album opens on a rather straightforward note- play it safe country-rock style- only to find the first track ending in a flurry of drums and noise. Nice surprise that bodes well for the rest of the album. "Battle for Rome" starts off slow and atmospheric before kicking into a steady, Neil Young "Powderfinger"-esque pace. "APO" follows the same pattern, only it finds its energy in a surprisingly aggressive guitar solo that exhibits the same sloppy energy as a Young or Jim James outing. "Yur Not Ded", which segues directly into "Happy Animals", is drenched in guitar and feedback, while the latter song propels forward thanks to what is essentially a chaotic guitar solo lasting the entire song.
Slide guitar, pedal steel, a little country twang seeping into the vocals pushes what is essentially a rock album into more southern spaces. The album sounds as if it was recorded live- raw, energetic,sloppy at times- but in no way amateurish or not-ready-for-primetime. "Hampton's Lullaby" is a debut album that promises great things ahead from the Futurebirds.