The Lumineers are far from a new phenomenon, in spite of the hype and their chart-based achievements. Their success is rooted in familiarity, the band placing their own spin on a tried and true indie-folk formula. Citing Mumford & Sons, Bowerbirds, Slow Club and a million other contemporaries, they might just be riding a wave doomed to dissolve into the shoreline sooner rather than later.
Their debut album flits between hits and misfires, all the while adhering to variations upon a theme. Opener Flowers In Your Hair sets the tone, its rollicking nostalgia providing insight into the band’s expertise. Its follow-up, the saccharine Classy Girls, builds towards a breezy rural hoedown. Ho Hey is the album’s obvious standout, the infectious single a foot-stomping folk anthem. It’s a romantic ode that reels you in unlike any of The Lumineers’ other efforts, demonstrating the latent potential of the band’s stripped-back approach. It’s a rare exception in a debut album that tends to meander dreamily, floating along with only fleeting signs of urgency.
Submarine emerges a prime example, the song growing stale in its simplicity. Meanwhile, Dead Sea goes so far as to tease a sweeping orchestral climax, only to shy away from any satisfactory finale. There will be a rush to call The Lumineers a remarkable record, but it’s flawed tracks such as these – combined with the overall dull familiarity of the band’s folk-aesthetic – that ought to contradict hasty acclaim. The next step will be integral.
BY NICK MASON
Best Track: Ho Hey
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Hymns For A Dark Horse BOWERBIRDS., Yeah So SLOW CLUB
In A Word: Good
