6/3/05

Good clean musical fun and a tinge of darkness…perfect! harvest of Souls.” Sounds rather like a Metal band, no? When I hear such a band name, I usually either think of a heavy, power ballad sort of project, in the vein of Pantera or, if my view of Metal is not particularly favourable at the moment, Suicidal Tendencies. Or a religious group, though given the nature of this magazine – we do, after all, specialize in music that “makes the baby Jesus cry” – I didn’t give that possibility any consideration.

What I was least expecting was a richly soulful trio of musicians delivering to my ears three of – perhaps – the best Modern/Alternative Rock songs that the 1990s never produced.

“Who,” the opener, starts with an acoustic guitar solo that turns into Garage-worthy Rock n’ Roll. Aside from the excellent musicianship, what is immediately apparent here is the genuine passion emanating from the vocalist, who sings his lyrics with the sincerity of someone who means what he says; as much as I love Electronic music, I cannot but frown at the “make up your own interpretation to what I’m saying” approach that permeates so much of the genre, and it’s refreshing to hear a band that doesn’t follow it.

“Love me hate me” is slower, but achieves the same end as “who.” By this point the squeaky clean production also begins to assert itself in one’s consciousness, if only for its relative rarity among first albums and underground EPs; it works well for the music, as Harvest of Souls has no need for power chords, growls, or rawness in general.

“Born to heaven born to hell,” though in need of a better name (“Born to heaven AND hell” would have flowed much better, no?), is equally as good as the two preceding tracks. Starting with some heavy riffs before quieting down into a more subdued first verse that has distinct echoes of Blues, this is the perfect conclusion, both musically and lyrically.

As mentioned, the lyrics are a strong part of the band’s appeal. “Who,” a lament of confusion over one’s identity, establishes the general mood of the band; “Love me hate me,” as the name suggests, tells of disintegrated relationships and love (my least favourite); “Borne to heaven borne to hell” reminds you that disaster is sometimes unavoidable but then asks rhetorically whether you’re going to let it win or march on. (The last one is my favourite message, because it seems to share the same view of misfortune and pain that I do: that it’s not a necessity, it's something that has no rightful hold on a person’s mind).

With only three songs to the disc, I can only hope that this is representative of the band’s talent.

My only gripe is that it’s so short and there’s no full length album available. If you have any affinity for unprocessed, no nonsense Rock n’ Roll, give Harvest of Souls a try. Even if they don’t rub you in just the right way as they did me – an obvious possibility – you will have no choice but to respect their ability.

http://www.sickamongthepure.com/

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