Here

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros | Format: MP3 Music

Product Details

• Original Release Date: May 29, 2012
• Release Date: May 29, 2012
• Label: Community Music / Vagrant Records
• Copyright: Community Music/Vagrant Records
• Total Length: 37:38
• Genres:
  • Alternative Rock
• ASIN: B0081J9OWC
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,097 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 44 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Love Is What's Up On Edward Sharpe Followup May 29, 2012

By Andrew Smith

Format:Audio CD

Around the time that Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros released Up From Below, I read in the music press that singer-visionary Alex Ebert had to go to rehab and get clean and sober before he could create the Edward Sharpe mythos and make this wild dreamy happy music. When I finally got to see this band's live show on the Railroad Revival Tour, I couldn't help being alarmed by Alex's aura of frantic and antics of folly. If this isn't a relapse, it must be some old-time religion.

When gathered as a band, they're not just messengers of love, they're old school troubadours, and they are also poets, painters, photographers, and chefs. On the follow-up album Here, we see some solid evidence that it's not bad drugs but good religion that's cascading all over my ears.

The record shifts from subtle woozy hypnotic gospel pop to overt folksy gospel revival, channeling a mystical mashup of Johnny and June Cash meets John and Yoko with mild dashes of Jack and Meg meets Sonny and Cher. It's all Up With People meets the Allman Brothers down at the groovy altar call. Permanent summer camp is in session, and we're all drunk on the non-alcoholic communion grape juice.

"Man On Fire" launches the ritual with a simple, profound, and grandiose request: "I want the whole damn world/To come dance with me." And the pop ambiance, people's message, and energizing-mesmerizing quality of the band's live shows actually make that possible.

"That's What's Up" reminds us that Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros are still what's up. But it also reassures us that "Home,"Alex's epic duet with Jade Castrinos on the first album, was by no means a fluke. These two can sing to each other in ways that feel more than real. They sing: "Love is our shelter/Love is our cause/Love goes on forever/Yeah love will lead us all/Love, it is our honour/Love, it is our all/Love goes on forever/Yeah love it is our home." Love is definitely what's up. It always has been, and let's hope it always will.

"I Don't Wanna Pray" is a toe-tapping, hand-clapping, old-school-bus-quality singalong that takes me back to summers at camp and the sweet smell of mountains mingled with the strange smell of school-bus seat. Alex brings a message - not against prayer per se - but against the separation between prayer and everyday life. It's a truly holy hope that we'll all transcend being the "pray-er" to be prayer itself.

Swooning high on the 60s-70s orchestral vibe, "Dear Believer" pulls us back to paradise, teaches that "reaching for heaven is what I am on earth to do." Then "Mayla" mingles "The Mighty Quinn" with "Come Thou Font" like a classic radio or church piece, coming forth with more magical mystery tours for the heart and mind in such short time!

The sweet summer rain reigns with "All Wash Out," a soft but strong symphonic crescendo to the whole affair. It's all forgiveness and sweet healing and freedom from our chains.

If this all sounds far too SoCal Jesus Freak as mere marketing move, it doesn't help that front(sha)man Alex fits the hippie messianic look to a tee. But Alex is not the second coming, his band is just coming on tour to a festival or theater near you. In a world where love is sometimes in short supply, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros amp love loudest and into the farthest dimensions. The music seems more than sincere to me, and listening to it forms a sincerely happy and habit-forming experience. - Andrew William Smith

42 of 50 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars a dissapointing follow-up June 6, 2012

By Charlie Quaker

Format:Audio CD

Really? I know negative reviews tend to be unpopular here, but either this band has lost something or I've lost the ability to appreciate them. Whereas 2009's "Up From Below" had a plethora of irresistible chant-along folk-rock choral epics and was packed with infectious harmonies & addictive melodies couched in big open-hearted anthems, "Here" seems thin and uninspired by comparison. These are down-home hippy commune sing-a-long folk/Americana/gospel tunes with hand-clapping, two-step, crowded back-porch rhythms and dreamy, quasi-religious lyrics. The album really just fails to materialize into anything meaningful or entertaining. Sometimes, at its best, it reminds of the Polyphonic Spree, Dead Man's Bones, Antony and the Johnsons. Mostly, it's just boring. Okay, I guess you can tell I'm disappointed. Ready for the backlash & negative votes.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Work, No Real Stand Out Singles June 14, 2012

By J. Loudon

Format:Audio CD

It has been almost three years since Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros released their debut album. For those of you who had the pleasure of hearing it, the hit single "Home" is likely still stuck in your head. With their long-awaited follow-up record finally here, the biggest question seemed to be as to whether they would be able to build upon their success with a now familiar audience. Unfortunately for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, that answer is likely no.

Much like Arcade Fire and The Polyphonic Spree, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros are not lacking when it comes to band members. With 11 members at last count, Alex Ebert, the band's lead singer, and company make each song feel like a sing-along. Sometimes they harmonize and sometimes they just throw in the occasional whistle or hoot in the background to add a live feel to their studio recordings, but each member plays a crucial role and helps the music to stand out from a standard four-piece rock band.

Although the number of members makes them relatively unique, to get radio play, the songs have to be more than just unique, they have to be catchy; that is where Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros fall short. "Here" is not a bad record. In fact, as an album, "Here" is significantly more consistent and enjoyable from start to finish than "Up From Below" was in 2009. However, there is one extremely significant missing piece and that is a standout single.

"Home" still receives a great deal of radio play even today because it is completely engaging. It is almost as if you can hear each member of the band smiling as they sing. With an infectious whistle and a unanimous shout of "hey" urging the track onward during the chorus, "Home" encourages crowd participation whether you're seeing the band live in concert or just singing along with the album in your car.

On "Here," the tracks are a little more subdued. The debut single, "Man on Fire," sounds like a small group singing along to their favorite Johnny Cash track. This is not a bad thing, mind you, but even on hit singles like "Ring of Fire" and "Going to Memphis," Cash was never one to sound cheerful. There is still fun to be had during the listening experience Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros offers, but even as "Man on Fire" is building to its climax of diverse instruments, it never quite reaches the emotional heights of "Home."

Following "Man on Fire" on the album is "That's What's Up," a track with the bouncy bass line of The Beatles' "Octopus' Garden" and the vocal work of a farming family singing together on their back porch. Like the preceding tune, "That's What's Up" is very enjoyable to listen to, but it never really grasps the attention of the listener. The foot-stomping beat might have you tapping your foot along by the end, but the variety of voices singing during the chorus is somewhat distracting, especially with slightly delayed entrances by some of the participants.

As "Here" progresses and takes shape, there is a great deal of variety thrown at the listener. "I Don't Wanna Pray" would fit right in with an early-American folk record while "One Love to Another" utilizes a nearly by the book reggae formula. The whistling that put Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros on the map even makes a return appearance and helps to close out the record, but as the slowest of the nine songs on "Here," the whistling heard on "All Wash Out" does little to remind fans of what made them fall in love with this band to begin with.

If you are already a fan of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, "Here" is much easier to swallow than it is for new listeners. With the variety of styles and instruments applied to this oversized band, they are able to make songs that would have been popular in the early 1900s feel fresh and new. However, for those unfamiliar with the band, "Here" is not the kind of record that captures new audiences on a single listen. Lucky for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Mumford and Sons' new record is not due out until September the competition for new folk-based music on the radio is still somewhat limited.

Track Suggestion: "Man on Fire"