HYMN FOR HER
''LUCY & WAYNE AND THE AMAIRICAN STREAM''
OCTOBER 5 2010
45:36
1. Slips/2:41
2. Grave/4:33
3. Sea/3:51
4. Fiddlestix/4:26
5. Not/4:57
6. Montana/3:37
7. Cave/2:27
8. Here/5:10
9. C'mon/3:12
10. Sangre/3:54
11. Thursday/3:57
12. Odette/2:52
REVIEW
by j. poet
Hymn for Her take a radical departure from their first quiet folk-rock album, reinventing themselves as a loud, noisy, white trash country band with plenty of grunge and grit in their sound. Liner notes are a bit sketchy about who plays what, but the tunes here are full of over-the-top vocals, barely contained electric guitars, banjos, drums, handclaps, foot stomps, and wailing harmonicas. "Fiddlestix" is a good example of their free-for-all approach, it combines a stomping rhythm, a vocal duet full of keening harmonies and clattering banjo, and a gradually accelerating tempo that keeps things off balance and out of control. The song is part blues, part country-rock and energetic as heck. On the opposite end of the spectrum is "Not," a quiet love song with acoustic guitar, glockenspiel, and breathy, yearning vocals from Lucy Tight that hark back to the quieter sound of Hymn's first album. One of the sounds that drives Amairican Stream is the three-stringed cigar box guitar that Tight plays slide style. The aggressive sound she gets out of it is one of the cornerstones of the duo's sound. She tears it up on "Grave" slipping into a long, distorted solo at the end, while Wayne Waxing contributes howling vocals and wailing harmonica. "C'Mon" is a country rocker with a hint of '60s girl group sass in Tight's multi-tracked vocal. "Thursday" is a cheatin' song with Tight alternating between a grinding slide attack and scratching out the rhythm on mute strings. Their salacious duet ends in a barrage of noise that suggests mayhem. The set closes with "Odette" a stark a cappella ballad that recalls the Southern roots of American folk music.
BIOGRAPHY
by Alex Henderson
Comprised of singer Maggi Jane and guitarist/singer Pierce Ternay, Hymn for Her are an introspective, acoustic-oriented folk-rock duo whose members are also part of the Philadelphia-associated folk-rock trio Maggi, Pierce & E.J. (also known as MPEband). Maggi Jane and Ternay, who began performing together as Hymn for Her in 2007, comprise two-thirds of Maggi, Pierce & E.J.; Hymn for Her is Maggi, Pierce & E.J. without bassist/singer E.J. Simpson (who has also played piano, mandolin, and other instruments). Stylistically, Hymn for Her is not a major departure from Maggi, Pierce & E.J.; their songs are not radically different, but Hymn for Her has had more of a minimalist outlook. Using fewer instruments, Hymn for Her has favored a decidedly intimate, stripped-down approach.
Thanks to their work with Maggi Jane in Maggi, Pierce & E.J., Ternay and Simpson have been closely identified with the Philly folk scene. But before Ternay and Simpson were part of Maggi, Pierce & E.J., they were part of a totally different group: the Goats, an interracial alternative rap act that recorded for Ruffhouse/Columbia (distributed by Sony Music) in the early '90s. Because of their abundance of sociopolitical lyrics, the Goats were often compared to Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions (BDP), and KRS-One. But they also had some of the alterna-rap quirkiness of groups like De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets, the Jungle Brothers, and the Pharcyde. Despite recording for a well-known label (Cypress Hill, the Fugees, Lauryn Hill, Kris Kross, and Tim Dog were all part of the Ruffhouse roster in the 1990s) and receiving their share of favorable reviews, the Goats never became well known, but they did enjoy a small cult following.
After recording two albums for Ruffhouse (1992's Tricks of the Shade and 1994's No Goats No Glory), the Goats broke up. But Ternay and Simpson stayed busy, forming Maggi, Pierce & E.J. with Maggi Jane in 1995 (the year in which MPEband self-released their first album, The White Album, on their own label, EMPrecords). A major stylistic departure from the Goats, Maggi, Pierce & E.J. emphasized folk-rock -- and instead of being compared to Chuck D, KRS-One, and 2 Black 2 Strong, Maggi, Pierce & E.J. found themselves being compared to the Mamas & the Papas, Peter, Paul & Mary, Joni Mitchell, 10,000 Maniacs, and Joan Baez. In the late '90s and early to mid-2000s, Maggi, Pierce & E.J. toured North America extensively and self-released several albums on EMPrecords that helped them acquire a small but enthusiastic following in singer/songwriter, adult alternative, and coffeehouse circles. Hymn for Her's first album, Year of the Golden Pig, was released in 2008, but the birth of Hymn for Her didn't mean the end of Maggi, Pierce & E.J. -- not at all. In fact, Maggi Jane, Ternay, and Simpson recorded a new Maggi, Pierce & E.J. album in 2008.
''LUCY & WAYNE AND THE AMAIRICAN STREAM''
OCTOBER 5 2010
45:36
1. Slips/2:41
2. Grave/4:33
3. Sea/3:51
4. Fiddlestix/4:26
5. Not/4:57
6. Montana/3:37
7. Cave/2:27
8. Here/5:10
9. C'mon/3:12
10. Sangre/3:54
11. Thursday/3:57
12. Odette/2:52
REVIEW
by j. poet
Hymn for Her take a radical departure from their first quiet folk-rock album, reinventing themselves as a loud, noisy, white trash country band with plenty of grunge and grit in their sound. Liner notes are a bit sketchy about who plays what, but the tunes here are full of over-the-top vocals, barely contained electric guitars, banjos, drums, handclaps, foot stomps, and wailing harmonicas. "Fiddlestix" is a good example of their free-for-all approach, it combines a stomping rhythm, a vocal duet full of keening harmonies and clattering banjo, and a gradually accelerating tempo that keeps things off balance and out of control. The song is part blues, part country-rock and energetic as heck. On the opposite end of the spectrum is "Not," a quiet love song with acoustic guitar, glockenspiel, and breathy, yearning vocals from Lucy Tight that hark back to the quieter sound of Hymn's first album. One of the sounds that drives Amairican Stream is the three-stringed cigar box guitar that Tight plays slide style. The aggressive sound she gets out of it is one of the cornerstones of the duo's sound. She tears it up on "Grave" slipping into a long, distorted solo at the end, while Wayne Waxing contributes howling vocals and wailing harmonica. "C'Mon" is a country rocker with a hint of '60s girl group sass in Tight's multi-tracked vocal. "Thursday" is a cheatin' song with Tight alternating between a grinding slide attack and scratching out the rhythm on mute strings. Their salacious duet ends in a barrage of noise that suggests mayhem. The set closes with "Odette" a stark a cappella ballad that recalls the Southern roots of American folk music.
BIOGRAPHY
by Alex Henderson
Comprised of singer Maggi Jane and guitarist/singer Pierce Ternay, Hymn for Her are an introspective, acoustic-oriented folk-rock duo whose members are also part of the Philadelphia-associated folk-rock trio Maggi, Pierce & E.J. (also known as MPEband). Maggi Jane and Ternay, who began performing together as Hymn for Her in 2007, comprise two-thirds of Maggi, Pierce & E.J.; Hymn for Her is Maggi, Pierce & E.J. without bassist/singer E.J. Simpson (who has also played piano, mandolin, and other instruments). Stylistically, Hymn for Her is not a major departure from Maggi, Pierce & E.J.; their songs are not radically different, but Hymn for Her has had more of a minimalist outlook. Using fewer instruments, Hymn for Her has favored a decidedly intimate, stripped-down approach.
Thanks to their work with Maggi Jane in Maggi, Pierce & E.J., Ternay and Simpson have been closely identified with the Philly folk scene. But before Ternay and Simpson were part of Maggi, Pierce & E.J., they were part of a totally different group: the Goats, an interracial alternative rap act that recorded for Ruffhouse/Columbia (distributed by Sony Music) in the early '90s. Because of their abundance of sociopolitical lyrics, the Goats were often compared to Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions (BDP), and KRS-One. But they also had some of the alterna-rap quirkiness of groups like De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets, the Jungle Brothers, and the Pharcyde. Despite recording for a well-known label (Cypress Hill, the Fugees, Lauryn Hill, Kris Kross, and Tim Dog were all part of the Ruffhouse roster in the 1990s) and receiving their share of favorable reviews, the Goats never became well known, but they did enjoy a small cult following.
After recording two albums for Ruffhouse (1992's Tricks of the Shade and 1994's No Goats No Glory), the Goats broke up. But Ternay and Simpson stayed busy, forming Maggi, Pierce & E.J. with Maggi Jane in 1995 (the year in which MPEband self-released their first album, The White Album, on their own label, EMPrecords). A major stylistic departure from the Goats, Maggi, Pierce & E.J. emphasized folk-rock -- and instead of being compared to Chuck D, KRS-One, and 2 Black 2 Strong, Maggi, Pierce & E.J. found themselves being compared to the Mamas & the Papas, Peter, Paul & Mary, Joni Mitchell, 10,000 Maniacs, and Joan Baez. In the late '90s and early to mid-2000s, Maggi, Pierce & E.J. toured North America extensively and self-released several albums on EMPrecords that helped them acquire a small but enthusiastic following in singer/songwriter, adult alternative, and coffeehouse circles. Hymn for Her's first album, Year of the Golden Pig, was released in 2008, but the birth of Hymn for Her didn't mean the end of Maggi, Pierce & E.J. -- not at all. In fact, Maggi Jane, Ternay, and Simpson recorded a new Maggi, Pierce & E.J. album in 2008.
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