HYMNS had the ability to sound like every band you’ve ever
heard and yet sound fresh and unique.
Well, usually they sounded fresh and unique. Sometimes the game of “Name That Influence”
became a distraction. Are they channeling
Tom Petty, The Byrds, or Bob Dylan? No, they’re
channeling Tom Petty channeling The Byrds channeling Bob Dylan. This stuff can drive you crazy. You end up like the guy in “Zen and the Art
of Motorcycle Maintenance” who became so obsessed with defining “quality” that
he ended up in an insane asylum. It’s
best to just enjoy the music.
My favorite HYMNS song is the medley of NYC Nervous
Breakdown / Off My Mind from the Travel in Herds album. No, it wasn't a medley on the album. But when I created a HYMNS playlist and
sorted it alphabetically, that was obviously the way God meant for the songs to be sequenced. You can stream the result of God's Will below. You're welcome.
Backslash-7 rating: Two sides of the triangle!!! They lose a side because A) It doesn't make
me do the Cat Dance and B) I can’t figure out where that 12-string guitar solo
came from. Based on their video for
Train Song, I’m guessing it came from Hard Day’s Night.
Brian Harding (lead vocals and guitar) is now the front man for Ex Cops. Jason Roberts (lead guitar and vocals) is touring with Nora Jones.