for fans of:
Wilco
Neutral Milk Hotel
The National
It was the fall of 2007 when I traveled a short distance to Oklahoma City to catch a Deas Vail show, as part of their Man Vs. Road tour with The New Frontiers. I'll remember that night forever, one of the most significant evenings for me as an artist, as an appreciator, as a human being. When I was young, I used to wonder why certain artists - The Beatles, Nirvana, Madonna - were so famous. I was always told that they had "the right sound at the right time." I don't think I understood that phrase completely until I laid ears on The New Frontiers. They embodied everything I was looking for in alternative music as an early twenty-something.
I got about a year and a half of The New Frontiers before they threw in the towel. It was heartbreaking, as you might imagine, for me. Most of the band members disappeared, save for Alex Bhore, the drummer, who moved on to successful post-rock outfit This Will Destroy You.
In 2013, I was elated to learn that Nathan Pettijohn, lead vocalist and one of the masterminds behind The New Frontiers, had a new project in the works, which he was calling Low Dark Hills. I waited as patiently as I knew how for him to finish the record. A year and a half later, the day finally came.
If you were a fan of The New Frontiers, and are expecting Low Dark Hills to pick up where they left off, I won't say that you'd be disappointed, even though that's not exactly the case. Imagine if they had never stopped, and had continued to grow and mature. Where The New Frontiers may have explored qualities of ambiance and over-the-top production, Low Dark Hills hold back on those things a little, more starkly exposing the songs themselves.
The EP opens with "Abilene," a shuffly alt-country ballad driven by a laid back drum groove and steadily strummed acoustic guitars, with Pettijohn's signature soaring vocals laying into the mix.
The next track, "414" is probably the most upbeat track of the record, but not so upbeat that you couldn't spin it while taking a drive on a rainy day while lazily sipping a cup of coffee. It's by this track that you start to understand Pettijohn's unusually strong grasp of verse-buildup-to-chorus-payoff songwriting structure.
"414"'s only real competition for the record's most up-tempo track comes next, "Ballad of a Woodsman." Driven by straight-ahead Americana strums and rhythm, "Ballad of a Woodsman" is colored with atmosphere uncommon to other songs in the genre.
"Rio Grande" moves the EP along, with subtle wire brush train beat drums, and an almost gang-vocal style chorus, dripping wet with vintage reverb. This might be my favorite cut from the record, but I'm not sure if it's because it's the best written ans executed song, or if it's because of the track's glaring similarities to old New Frontiers B-sides - the best material that they ever released.
The final cut, "After the Politics" rounds out the EP, complete with truly moving lyrics and a goosebump-inducing vibraphone part performed by the record's engineer and This Will Destroy You drummer (and former New Frontier) Alex Bhore. "If I were to love my brother, common ground could be found and we'd be free," is how Pettijohn eloquently chose to close the EP.
When this project was announced, I was hopeful for the return of The New Frontiers. Low Dark Hills is not the return of The New Frontiers. It's something greater, something far more interesting, and for me, something even more exciting.
-JR
download or stream the record here
