Customer Reviews

Hearts of Palm

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

 

 

Yes, if you like slo-core, you're apt to enjoy this record.

This record, however, simply transcends any indie genre pigeonholing. This is a beautifully written, produced and performed album, filled with incredibly well-crafted songs.

Lead singer/songwriter Jeff Martin offers up an emotionally potent performance on the title track, which by itself is worth the price of admission.

Fans of Karate, Low and Ida will no doubt appreciate this collection. But this is wonderfully accessible, lovely music, a treat for any thoughtful music fan.

as most artists get a little older, they seem to lose a little something. maybe forsaking passion for maturity, but nonetheless a trade off.
not so with jeff martin. rather, his work continues to get stronger and stronger. there are quite a few tracks on this disc that alone would be worth purchasing it, it is that it plays like a whole long beautiful dream.
the cd kicks off with what is unquestionably the most incredible idaho song ever. the production (by jeff martin himself) is impeccable, and there is not a single thing that could've made it a more beautiful song. it is perfect, as far as im concerned. and the rest: it's worth going along for the ride.
subtle, beautiful, haunting, yet somehow does those thinks without a sense of darkness that pervades most things considered "slo-core." this thing floats.

Hearts of Palm has amazing depth. There is something so mysterious and haunting about it that you never completely figure it out. And that's what makes it great; the inability to completely or accurately describe the experience of listening to this album using words. I'll try to describe the album, in a nutshell, as a whole.

Jeff Martin seems to grasp the idea of how valuable subtlety is. In many instances, he has abandoned the idea of writing songs centered around guitar, but rather uses guitars as a source for background sounds. There are echoes, delay, droning, some dissonance, and much more. Martin captures genuine moods (usually with undertones that most people call "depressing") any way he can, with a variety of sounds and tones. Songs are structured by what feels honest and natural to Martin as he writes them. In addition to that, his lyrics almost seem to be stream of consciousness, as if he allowed the music to write them for him. As a result of this approach, it may be difficult to extract clear meaning from the lyrics; but that's not really the point - his words are only there to supplement the music.

Jim Jarmusch, the writer and director of Broken Flowers, has said "the most beautiful, deep things in our lives are not rational, they're usually emotional or they're connections with other people, and those things are very mysterious." That quote is fully applicable to Hearts of Palm. It's plays like a vague, but somehow very meaningful dream that you lose yourself in.