Great Northern Remind Me Where the Light Is
Review of Indie Groups Follow Up to Trading Twilight For Daylight
Jun 24, 2009
Based in Los Angeles, the indie group comprises former 30 Seconds to Mars vocalist and guitarist Solon Bixler, vocalist and keyboardist Rachel Stolte. Together they create a blend of eerie pop tracks and alternative dreamscapes flooded with heavy strings that span the spectrum between whispered ballads and fully charged rockers.
On Remind Me Where the Light Is, the follow up to 2007’s Trading Twilight For Daylight, they seep back to dusk to breathe life into this collection of melancholy, yet unsettling upbeat tunes.
Remind Me Where the Light Is
Great Northern build their songs around stories of heartache layered upon pounding drums, guitars that fade in and out and creepy background sounds, with Stolte and Bixler trading time at the mike.
"When we started writing songs," Stolte writes on the band’s website, "we had just come off a year and a half of touring and didn't really know what was next. Almost immediately it was like the emotional flood gates opened. We would listen to stuff and be like 'Wow! So that's how we've been feeling about that".
The resulting songs, while sounding detached yet intimate, detail life in the late 2000’s. As a whole, Remind Me Where the Light Is makes the perfect soundtrack to a night of heartache.
New Tricks
The depth of these tunes burrows deeply into the soul, lightened only by the breathy, often ghostly vocals by Stolte such as on “New Tricks”, a stand out track reminiscent of Radiohead circa Kid A with equally detached guitar, an electronic beat and buzz noises that creep in and fade out.
“Driveway” another sinister-sounding track, uses organs and strange sounds while “Stop” begins with kitty meows and a heavy vocal by Bixler playing over a piano. “Story”, on the other hand uses pounding drums sweltering guitars and heartfelt vocals to weave this tale.
“Fingers” sounds like a cross between the Cowboy Junkies and Evanescence with a harder edge and whispered vocals. “Snakes” starts off playfully before building to a dramatic chorus that underscores the lyrics about falling to pieces.
Warming Numbers
On “Warming”, another haunting tune, Great Northern again employ eerie piano and electronic drums to counterbalance the spooky vocals and twisted lyrics. "When you whisper I can’t hear what you’re thinking”, Stolte sings.
Great Northern left the best towards the end. “Numbers” coils the beat on this inspirational track about strengths in numbers. This gem could be the closest thing to a hit single they have on this album. Using their trademark slow lead in, the track works up to a powerful mid-section before slowly simmering and fading out.
The songs on Remind Me Where the Light Is are well layered and expertly executed. While nothing screams single, the tracks sound better when played in sequence, as a whole.
With Remind Me Where the Light Is, Great Northern have produced a truly remarkable record that deserves a place in any true music fan’s library.
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