HEM
''DEPARTURE & FAREWELL''
APRIL 2 2013
37:05
1. Departure and Farewell /3:25
2. Walking Past The Graveyard, Not Breathing /2:51
3. Things Are Not Perfect In Our Yard /2:21
4. The Seed /1:39
5. The Jack Pine /3:11
6. Tourniquet /3:56
7. Seven Angels /2:25
8. Gently Down The Stream /3:29
9. Bird Song /1:35
10. Traveler's Song /1:59
11. The Tides At The Narrows /2:28
12. Last Call /5:00
13. So Long /2:59
Amy Kimball /Violin
Kristin Andreassen /Choir/Chorus
Lauren Balthrop /Choir/Chorus
Mark Brotter /Drums
Charlie Burnham /Fiddle
Joe Chappel /Choir/Chorus
Claudia Chopek /Violin
Christine Kim /Cello
Michael Cirigliano /Clarinet
Allison Cornell /Viola, Violin
Tomás Cruz /Choir/Chorus
Steve Curtis /Guitar, Vocal Harmony
Christopher Duff /Trombone
Sally Ellson /Vocals
Carla Fabiani /Viola
Rob Fournier /Euphonium
Rachel Golub /Violin
The Gowanus Radio Auxiliary Gospel Choir /Choir/Chorus
The Gowanus Radio Chorus /Choir/Chorus
Gowanus Radio Orchestra /Orchestra
Todd Graves /Sax (Tenor)
Conrad Harris /Violin
Maria Harrold /French Horn
Rick Heckman /Clarinet, Flute, Oboe
Peter Hess /Clarinet
Bob Hoffnar /Dobro, Group Member, Pedal Steel
Byron Issacs /Choir/Chorus
Matt Keating /Choir/Chorus
Pauline Kim /Viola
Jim Lake /Flugelhorn, Trumpet
Dawn Landes /Choir/Chorus, Vocal Harmony
Judy Lee /French Horn
Tony Leone /Choir/Chorus
Ben Lively /Violin
Todd Livingston /Dobro
Victor Lowrie /Viola
Ale Mahave /Viola
Gary Maurer /Guitar, Mandolin, Vocal Harmony
Jessica Mayer /Viola
Dan Messe /Celeste, Glockenspiel, Piano, Piano (Electric), Vocal Harmony
Annie Nero /Choir/Chorus
Caryl Paisner /Cello
Victoria Paterson /Violin
Philip Payton /Violin
Phillip Payton /Concert Master
Greg Pliska /Arranger, Celeste, Conductor, Glockenspiel
Jody Redhage /Cello
Anna Reinersman /Harp
George Rush /Bass
Shannon Seals /Flugelhorn, Trumpet
Allison Seidner /Cello
Miranda Sielaff /Viola
Erika Simonian /Choir/Chorus
Coco Taguchi /Violin
Mioi Takeda /Violin
Una Tone /Violin
Jason Walker /Choir/Chorus
Orlando Wells /Violin
Mary Wooten /Cello
Garo Yellin /Cello
REVIEW
by Thom Jurek
Departure & Farewell is the first album by Hem in nearly seven years. They entered the studio in 2007 to record a proper follow-up to Funnel Cloud, and almost didn't get out. According to an interview with chief songwriter Dan Messe, the initial sessions were supposed to be for a final release, and broke down during a tumultuous period for the band internally. Certain relationships were strained to the breaking point and a period of separation was necessary. Thankfully, time, willingness, forgiveness, and respect heal wounds. Departure & Farewell is vital, ambitious; Hem sound renewed (they aren't breaking up). Many, including the opening title track, "Walking Past the Graveyard, Not Breathing," "Traveler's Song," and others make use of a large chamber orchestra (usually in parts) with winds, brass, and strings. Particularly effective are "Gently Down the Stream," with its woven electric and acoustic guitars and swooping strings, and the interplay of piano, harp, clarinet, guitars, and strings on "Tourniquet." Other cuts are much more sparse. The moving, hymn-like "The Seed" features the band with violinist Charles Burnham, while the gorgeous country-tinged "The Jack Pine" adds Bob Hoffnar's pedal steel. Sally Ellyson's signature warm, lullaby style is present in the silvery sweetness of "Seven Angels" and the shimmering "Bird Song," where glockenspiel, strings, percussion, and acoustic guitars offer an otherworldly waltz for her to carry the listener to another place. "Last Call" is an epilogue to drinking songs on earlier recordings such as "When I Was Drinking," "Lucky," and "Pacific Street." One of the two homemade choirs guests to underscore its late-night barroom feel. Another of these sends the record off on the bittersweet "So Long," a country gospel goodbye steeped in the notion of love without regret, leaving the possibility of return. No matter how expansive the arrangements, the production by Messe and guitarist Gary Maurer leaves plenty of room for space; they also -- wisely -- make Ellyson's voice the unwavering anchor in each song, its place of solace and comfort. Therefore, Hem's trademark sense of intimacy and elegant directness is never sacrificed. Departure & Farewell abundantly testifies to the band's creative vitality. Not only are these songs equal to anything they've presented before -- no mean feat for a record so long in the making -- their poetry and melodies deliver grace and tenderness more abundantly for having been tested by fire. Track for track, this was well worth waiting for.
BIOGRAPHY
by Erik Hage
The genesis of the New York-based folk outfit Hem goes back to 1999, when songwriter Dan Messe teamed up with producer/engineer Gary Maurer (who had worked with artists such as Jon Spencer, Luna, Fountains of Wayne, and James Iha). The two wanted to make a record that would explore their interests in traditional American music while draping it in contemporary stylings. They enlisted friend Steve Curtis (guitar, mandolin) and, needing a singer, placed an ad in The Village Voice. After receiving numerous demos that didn't suit their needs, the ad was pulled. Then Sally Ellyson called Messe about the spot, though she claimed that she wasn't really a singer.
Not expecting much, Messe asked for a demo. The tape, a cassette of lullabies she'd recorded for a friend's child, was exactly what Messe was looking for. The collaboration started out as a low-budget affair, but as the project grew and the bandmembers' faith in their work increased, Messe ended up selling off personal possessions in order to afford, for example, an 18-piece orchestra. The resulting album, 2001's Rabbit Songs, was recorded without any contemporary recording luxuries -- such as samples, computer mixing, or digital wizardry -- and focused instead on lush, traditional instrumentation and Ellyson's soothing vocals.
DreamWorks inked the band a deal in early 2003, and Rabbit Songs was reissued in July. Stateside club shows with Leona Naess followed. The group released a split EP, Birds, Beasts, & Flowers, with fellow chamber/country/pop collective the Autumn Defense in September 2004, with its second full-length, Eveningland, arriving the following month. No Word from Tom, a collection of covers, rarities, outtakes, demos, and live recordings, was released on Nettwerk in 2006. Hem continued releasing material at a prolific pace by issuing Funnel Cloud, the group's third studio album, that same year.
Three years later, the musicians founds themselves providing the soundtrack to a summer production of Twelfth Night. Held in Central Park and starring Anne Hathaway, Audra McDonald, and Raúl Esparza, the show required Hem to perform Irish instrumentals, original songs, and orchestral mood music. Cast members joined the band in the studio several months later to record an official album, which was released in October 2009. Meanwhile, the band continued to work on its proper follow-up to Funnel Cloud. Though 2009's Twelfth Night was issued under their name, it was essentially a traditional Celtic record performed by a cast of movie stars and Shakespearean actors, with Hem serving as the backup band. After an extended time away from one another, the bandmembers resumed working together in a studio in 2012. In the spring of 2013, they re-emerged with a proper new album entitled Departure and Farewell on Nettwerk.
DoWnLoAd
