The Lumineers

By The Lumineers

Sometimes you just have to get under peoples’ skin to gain attention. Imagine what it takes for a Bob Dylan-esque solo artist to gain the attention of pretentious, indifferent Brooklyn hipsters. No amount of acoustic guitars, rustic upright pianos or cellos will get their attention. That’s where Ho Hey comes in. The song was quite literally written to get attention between the catchy call and responses and thumping beat you want to be there, and yet alludes the listener. 

The success of The Lumineers’ debut album lies solely in the fact that they grab your attention with exactly what others fail to execute. Guitars, cellos, piano and drums are all they need to express themselves, and leave listeners yearning for more. Their songs are simple and just long enough to lull the listener into a trance, and end just before getting played out and boring. Like a Wes Anderson movie, they know exactly what their style is and they execute it flawlessly.

Each track is a beautiful vignette almost deserving of a Wes Anderson style music video, I like to imagine.

“Flowers in Your Hair” offers a tasteful introduction for what to expect for the next 42 minutes of your life. The playful offbeats of “Classy Girls” and “Submarines” leave you dizzy with excitement from their use of staccato mandolines, strings, or piano, pick your poison. Next is the glorious buildup of “Dead Sea”, a song often overlooked due to its skippable first few seconds to the impatient Spotify listener. The first side finishes with “Ho Hey”, a song that will forever be played in twinkle-light adorned barn weddings. Plus, who doesn’t like a mandolin?

The B-side offers more time to ruminate on the emotional and lyrical genius of the band. “Slow It Down” forces you to do exactly that, allowing you to exit the dancefloor for a bit and feel the emotions the haunting vocals stir. After the brief reprieve from bangers, “Stubborn Love” follows, likely causing Marcus Mumford a nightmare or two about what he could’ve written. “Big Parade”, “Charlie Boy” and “Flapper Girl”, further prove the band’s creativity in making the most out of their instruments and gritty vocals. Finally, closing out the raucous affair is “Morning Song”, a track that feels like filler and a song that allows you to head to the bar while the line is short. 

This is a fun album. Each track seems totally unique and yet the album could be played on shuffle and still make sense. The Lumineers find ways to creatively gain your attention, whether it be the “Hos” and “Heys”, the offbeat kilter their instruments produce (see Submarines: is it 4:4? 6:4? Who’s to say), their poetic lyrics or gut wrenching vocals. Sidenote, check out “Falling” on Youtube, Neyla Pekarek’s vocals are arguably better than Wesley Shultz’s.

If you’re in Brooklyn and a band with a mandolin and cello leaves the room tapping their feet, give them a tip. In the meantime, give The Lumineers a spin. 

Best Song: “Ho Hey” 

Tom’s Favorite: “Submarines”