It's difficult to pin down what Colorado music sounds like because we've had such an eclectic bunch of musicians from the state rise to prominence in the past decade or so.
Rock fans might hear bands like The Fray or DeVotchKa and think of Colorado, while jam band fans point to the String Cheese Incident or Yonder Mountain String Band. Even electro-heads have Pretty Lights.
The band that sounds most like Colorado to me is The Lumineers, and it's thrilling to have the trio of Jeremiah Fraites, Wesley Schultz and Neyla Pekarek back after a long absence.
Four years after the release of their massive, self-titled debut, the group released "Cleopatra" on April 8, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart.
Not bad for a group from the Mile High State.
Four years is a long time between albums, particularly in the current fickle music market. But for the band that time was crucial to recover from near constant touring from 2012 to 2014.
"(We) took the right amount of time we needed to make the record we imagined, on our own timeline," said Fraites, in a release from the band.
The group rented a house in Denver's Wash Park and spent six weeks writing. Then, it was time for two months of recording in Woodstock, New York.
"We want songs you can wrap your arms around," Schultz said in the release. "There's enough generic stuff out there full of recycled words that don't really mean anything. There have to be other stories to tell, and other ways to tell them."
"Cleopatra" is very much an album full of stories, a more reflective and relaxed affair than the group's debut. The closest The Lumineers get to the upbeat stomp of "Ho Hey" is the first single, "Ophelia," a song that is equally infectious, but in a much more subtle way. The hook creeps up on the listener, but after those tinkling piano lines quickly set up camp in your ear.
Colorado is home to some great stories, featuring characters like socialite and Titanic survivor Molly Brown and Beat Generation leader Neal Cassady, and the penchant for storytelling is one of the main influences I hear seeping into The Lumineers' music. They often eschew the typical verse-chorus-verse structure to tell extended stories that build as the song progresses. For example, "Cleopatra" tells the tale of a struggling actress, and the stunning "Angela" is the emotional chronicle of reunited lovers.
The writing's specificity makes the songs more relatable, as it puts the listener in someone's shoes, instead of just speaking in generalities.
The Lumineers' old-fashioned music most conjures Colorado in my mind. I've long felt Colorado is best experienced with a folk rock soundtrack, and the tunes on "Cleopatra" perfectly fit the bill.
The album has little in the way of electric instruments on the album --; what electric guitars are used serve as sonic shadings for the songs. Melodies are instead driven by finger-picked acoustic guitars and ragtime piano. You could easily imagine the album coming from the early 1900s. And I mean that as a compliment.
The song "Sick in the Head" is one of the most gorgeous songs from a musical standpoint I've heard in a long time, tailor-made for peacefully watching sunrises or sunsets over the Rockies.
This music would sound good no matter where you're from. But living in the state that inspired this album only adds to the affection I have for The Lumineers and Colorado.
I can't help but wonder who will be inspired here next.
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.comhttp://goldentranscript.net/stories/Illumination-from-The-Lumineers,212173?branding=15
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