songs:illinois

Elijah Wyman (My Space) has a new record on Blue Duck Records and surprise surprise I like it. There’s been a debate over on the Elbo.ws blogger forum of late about negative reviews on mp3 blogs. And while it seems like I’m always very positive all the time, the fact is behind the scenes I’m shaking my head and wondering what a lot of bands are thinking with some of the releases I get sent.

So again I like Why We Never Go Swimming And Other Stories but I’m having writers block on exactly why. While I am not a fan of emo per se there’s just enough that genre’s heart-on-a-sleeve ethos here to probably qualify but it’s the odd bits and pieces that make this music stand out and apart from the field. Instruments like clarinet, flute, hammered dulcimer and banjo are combined with the standard drums, guitar and bass. On top of that, some songs Elijah and band even employ a seven piece choir (in this instance it reminds me of last year’s awesome record from Chris Mills).

These two songs are a wrenching emotional tour de force. I dare you to listen and not be moved. Make someone’s day and buy this brand new release from Blue Duck Records here.

Why We Never Go Swimming
My Blood Will Cry Out To You

I asked Elijah Wyman to make a couple additional comments about his music figuring that hearing from the source would be more valuable than my in coherent ramblings. So here’s Elijah’s comments on the record in general and these two songs in particular:

“This Album, as the title indidcates, is a collection of short stories. Most of them are morose. These two songs in particular are some of the most morbid on the record. They are also some of my favorite.

Why We Never Go Swimming was written out of the idea of someone being hanged from a rope swing. I’m not sure why, but I had been excited by this idea for a while. I’m obsessed with the concept of dying from something you love or perhaps misery from something that brings joy.

My Blood Will Cry Out to You is a retelling of the story of Cain and Abel. I don’t like to say much more about it than that. We’ve been playing it live with trumpet, clarinet, flute, and banjo. It sounds lovely. Samantha Hale, who’s been playing with me for years, arranged some fantastic horn lines. “

This entry was posted on Monday, April 3rd, 2006 at 6:30 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.