Dear Wormwood Album Cover
If I had to pick the quintessential sound of indie folk right now, The Oh Hellos’ Dear Wormwood would be one of the first albums I reach for. They have every sound one would come to expect from the genre, banjo, echoey choral oohs and aahs, and of course some really beautiful warm singing and lyrics. Really this whole album feels like the sonic equivalent of sitting around a campfire (cue the onslaught of car commercials with their music in them with millennial sitting around campfires in Northern California).
Like I said this album IS indie folk. Siblings Maggie and Tyler Heath have put together a masterpiece record filled with songs that come and go all to quickly while at the same time, slowly ambling through your speakers. It seems like the pair really caught lightning in a bottle by using remarkable sparseness juxtaposed with powerful explosions of sound and harmony.
This whole record is a highlight for me, from the first note of “Prelude” to the last fade out in “Thus Always To Tyrants.” The music is completely unpredictable and the track order has a sort of chaotic beauty. The listener never knows what is going to happen next, no two tracks sound the same and often times they will be paired next to songs that could almost be from a different album. It is not often that a group could have such an eclectic sound while still encompassing the essence of a genre so thoroughly, but that is exactly what Dear Wormwood has done.
The album is just as diverse thematically as it is sonically. With songs like “This Will End” touching on the human relationship with death and fear coming on the heels of “Caesar” a song that could just as easily have been a 12th century poem. If there are people who truly value profound and biting lyrics reading this, than go get this record immediately, don’t even finish the article, just go… I’ll wait.
Okay now that you’re back let’s go into the ambience that the group has managed to achieve. Some of this record sounds like it would be at home on a Western prairie while other songs, like the ballad “Where Is Your Rider” brings about the feeling of a rainy Irish countryside. The Oh Hellos have masterfully found a way to blend an amalgam of different brands of indie folk into one cohesive package.
Interspersed amongst the poetry, lies beautiful instrumental tracks that evoke as much vivid imagery as any of the lyrical songs. There are absolutely no breaks in this album, and as it clocks in at under 40 minutes in its enirety, Dear Wormwood is definitely something that will make you want to listen over and over again. Any fans of bands like The Fleet Foxes or Father John Misty will be instant fans of The Oh Hellos and Dear Wormwood. You can buy their album here or on itunes. For added incentive here is the group playing the title track to the new record live in studio, enjoy!
-Ryan Schmitz
