If there was any doubt in your mind whether you should invest some time — and maybe money — in The Lumineers, just check out some of the many reviews of their self-titled debut full-length release on Amazon.com.
One fella from Minneapolis was so enthralled by the release and certain that you would be too that he offered a free sandwich as a guarantee.
“… if you buy this album and you don’t like it I will meet you exactly halfway between my house in Minneapolis and your house wherever that is and I will buy you a sandwich.”
Another, who wasn’t quite as enamored with the album but still liked it plenty, gave a rather pragmatic response.
“While I would not say that it is unlike anything I have ever heard, I would be comfortable saying that I thoroughly enjoyed it the whole way through and it is only growing on me with each listen (as most good music does..IMO).”
The Lumineers have been around since 2002 (or maybe 2005, depending upon which part of Wikipedia you believe), and they’ve been a trio since Wesley Schultz (lead vocals) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums) moved from New York City to Denver and found Neyla Pekarek after posting an ad on Craigslist for a cellist.
They finally released their first album this past April and have been gaining a lot of attention since their single, “Ho Hey”, appeared in an episode of Hart of Dixie in the winter and later in a Bing commercial last month.
As you can tell from the above song, the Lumineers’ sound is pretty straight-forward folk rock/Americana. As far as comparisons, all of the usual suspects should come to mind, but the most prevalent is probably The Head and the Heart.
There really isn’t any filler among the 11 songs on this initial offering. Some of the standouts are “Submarines”, “Slow It Down” and “Dead Sea”.
It looks like the bulk of their upcoming tour stops are in the East and Southeast before heading overseas. After some strong showings on various Billboard charts, this band’s star is definitely on the rise, and there’s no telling how big it will be by the time it returns Stateside.
Infinite Shuffle 