by The Lumineers
Hailing from Denver, The Lumineers are a three-piece folk rock band consisting of Wesley Schultz, Jeremiah Fraites and Neyla Pekarek. Their anticipated self titled debut album is due for release this 27th July on Rogue Records through Inertia.
The band’s story didn't come easily. In 2002, Fraites’ brother died from a drug overdose. During the months after his passing, Fraites (drums) and Schultz (vocalist/guitarist) found great solace in music, writing songs and playing gigs around New York.
After battling the city's cutthroat music scene and impossibly high cost of living, the two decided to expand their horizons. Packing everything they owned, they headed for Denver, Colorado, where they met their third member, the classically trained Pekarek (cello), through an ad on Craigslist.
As a trio, they began playing at the Meadowlark, a gritty basement club where the city's most talented songwriters gathered every Tuesday for an open mic and dollar PBRs. Pekarek softened Schultz and Fraites’ rough edges while expanding her skills to mandolin and piano. And so The Lumineers sound took shape; an amalgam of heart-swelling stomp-and-clap acoustic rock, classic pop, and front-porch folk.
In 2011, an eponymous, self-recorded EP led to a self-booked tour, and before long The Lumineers started attracting devout fans, first across the Western US, then back in their old East Coast stamping grounds. Young, old and in-between, they're drawn by songs like "Ho Hey" and "Stubborn Love," Americana-inflected barnburners in the vein of the Avett Brothers and Mumford & Sons. They're drawn by songs like "Slow it Down" and "Dead Sea," slow, sultry ballads that suggest the raw revelations of Jeff Buckley and Ryan Adams. They're drawn by the live Lumineers experience—a coming-together in musical solidarity against isolation, adversity, and despair.
The roots revival of the last few years has primed listeners for a new generation of rustic, heart-on-the-sleeve music. The Lumineers walk that line with an unerring gift for timeless melodies and soul-stirring lyrics. Born out of sorrow, powered by passion, ripened by hard work, The Lumineers have found their sound when the world needs it most.
This week's Top 10:
