Humbird
Right On
***and1/2 out of *****
The newest release from the Minneapolis based indie-folk artist Humbird (Siri Undlin) is a strong collection of well-built tunes that are both catchy and thought provoking.
A touch more rock than Undlin's past acoustic offerings, for Right On the artist worked with producer Shane Leonard and her band of Pat Keen (bass, synth, percussion) and Pete Quirsfeld (drums and percussion). The audio is direct and vibrant with sounds separated, nuanced, and alive.
Opening up with pleasant easy rolling folk of the title track, Undlin delivers heartfelt vocals dealing with relationship issues in an open, vulnerable fashion. The record plays with sounds and textures, keeping thing sonically interesting as "Cornfields and Roadkill" opens with loops before turning into a Neil Young sounding Americana as layered vocals from Undlin float around the edges.
"Blueberry Bog" is an upbeat Midwest rocker with bumping bass, background vocals, a twangy guitar solo and a nice addition of synths to augment the acoustics. "Child of Violence" deals lyrically with breaking the chain of passed down trauma amidst a great bass groove and swirling synths while "Seven Veils" uses light drums and guitar strums around fragile/confident vocals.
Undlin plays with some electro-folk as a light synth driven dance beat bolsters "Ghost on the Porch". using warbling guitars to color the fringes while album closer "Song For The Seeds" keeps the digital pulsing building to a cinematic finale. A track like "Fast Food" tries to combine all of Undlin's strengths in one quick song but ends up feeling overloaded and disjointed however an effort like "Quickest Way" is gorgeous, as the poetic lyrics flow out and the slow rolling instrumental build is hypnotic.
A high quality effort from all involved, Humbird's Right On feels warm, organic, impassioned and experimental, culminating in a winning album.
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