__ __________ ________________________ _ _ _ _ __________
\\ \\________//--------\\___________________________ _ _ _ _ ____//
..
:: Release Info:
::
:: Artist......> Hitchhike
:: Title.......> Night Light
:: Label.......> Favorite Street
:: Genre.......> Indie
:: Rip.Date....> 07.27.2005
:: Street.Date.> 00.00.0000
:: Source......> CDDA
:: Quality.....> VBRkbps - Full Stereo
:: Play Time...> 19:06 min
::
__ __________ ________________________ _ _ _ _ __________
\\ \\________//--------\\____________________________ _ _ _ _ ____//
..
:: Track Listing:
::
:: 01. I'm Not Tired
:: 02. It's You and Me
:: 03. Ceremony Three
:: 04. All of Your Friends
:: 05. As it is Said
::
__ __________ ________________________ _ _ _ _ __________
\\ \\________//--------\\____________________________ _ _ _ _ ____//
..
:: Release Notes:
::
:: From what I've read, Hitchhike are band from Austin, Texas
:: who have only been together a couple of years. With a female
:: drummer, some reviewers are inevitably bound to compare them
:: to the Velvet Underground. Likewise, with that same line up
:: and an Austin heritage, others may look to Indie upstarts
:: Black Lipstick. However, neither of these comparisons are by
:: any means accurate. Rather, on their Night Light EP, released
:: on Favorite Street Records, Hitchhike seem to be slightly
:: mellow Indie Rock with a flair for arrangement and
:: instrumental balance which belie their relatively short time
:: playing together.
::
:: The EP begins with I'm Not Tired, which admittedly sounds a
:: bit like the afore-mentioned Black Lipstick, with fairly
:: minimal drumming and loud-ish guitars. However, upon closer
:: inspection , the guitarwork here reminds me of Superchunk,
:: back in the Precision Auto years, albeit a little quieter in
:: tone. This song is particularly well recorded, with the drums
:: isolated and distinct in the mix and the vaguely distorted
:: guitars playing out of individual speakers. Furthermore, the
:: primary vocals are spoke/sung, with some off-kilter harmonies
:: coming in towards the end. Taken as a whole, I'm Not Tired is
:: an absolutely wonderful rock song that, even at nearly five
:: minutes, leaves me wanting another verse at its end.
::
:: Next comes It's You and Me. This one is slower and more
:: deliberate, with apparently chorused guitarwork that is
:: alternating minimalist and droney. With occasional empty
:: sonic spaces, the drumwork of Lisa Barnett takes on a life of
:: its own, acting like a melody unto itself. Furthermore, like
:: in the previous track, I particular like the way the guitars
:: are recorded. Each is sonically isolated and become
:: respectively louder and softer in their turn.
::
:: The third song, Ceremony Three shifts musical gears slightly.
:: It seems more reminiscent of that 60s-influsenced, slightly
:: psychedelic rock that's best embodied these days by Athens
:: bands like The Fairburn Royals, or maybe it's the handclaps
:: that just give me that impression. The vocalist on Ceremony
:: Three is different than on the first two songs. Based on the
:: songwriting credits, I'm going to guess that this singer is
:: John Alderson (as opposed to Kyle Barnett), who has a
:: slightly higher-pitched voice, which works well with the
:: slightly spacey music. As a side note, after three songs of
:: varying musical types, I'm lead to wonder if Hitchhike known
:: fellow Austinites Tammany Hall Machine? If so, maybe they
:: ought to get together and tour, because I think their music
:: would complement each other well.
::
:: All of Your Friends goes back to the earlier
:: songwriter/vocalist, who I believe is Kyle Barnett.
:: Song-wise, this tune seems to take the deliberate pacing of
:: It's You and Me and combine it with the guitar style of the
:: first song. More importantly, on this song I'm particularly
:: impressed by the variation in Lisa Barnett's drumming style.
:: With a song that is so relatively straight-forward, it would
:: be too easy to stuck with a standard snare-heavy beat.
:: Instead, Barnett syncopates the snare and alternates it with
:: some variations on the toms. Likewise, the keyboards which
:: show up during the second verse are understated, but seem
:: essential to the ultimate musical unification of this song.
:: In short, All of Your Friends takes a seemingly simple
:: melodic riff and then expands on it with instrumental
:: variations to wonderful effect.
::
:: Night Light ends with As It Is Said, sung again by Alderson.
:: It begins with a few guitar arpeggios before an understate
:: keyboard comes in and holds the melody, and then the keyboard
:: in turn passes the melody off to the bass. All of this
:: contrasts to Alderson's higher vocal line and combines to
:: become a musical saunter, if you will. As It Is Said seems a
:: bit more country-esque that the rest of the EP, but I suppose
:: that might be due to Alderson's vocal tone. Either way, the
:: instrumental interludes on this song are so pretty that is
:: seems a shame to sing over them. This is not in any way a
:: disparagement, but rather a reflection upon how lovely the
:: actual music is.
::
:: In the end, Night Light is quite impressive, especially if
:: you consider that the EP is apparently Hitchhike's first
:: release. It would rank rather highly, even if the only good
:: song were the nearly sublime I'm Not Tired. As it is, the
:: rest more than stands on its own merits. Furthermore, the mix
:: and the production are some of the best I've heard this side
:: of Steve Albini. I looked high and low on the EP for a
:: production credit, but alas it was not to be found. So, to
:: whoever was responsible: excellent job. And to the band
:: themselves: I had not heard of you previously, but you can
:: bet that you're now on my musical radar.
::
:: Http://www.hitchhikemusic.com
::
__ __________ ________________________ _ _ _ _ __________
\\ \\________//--------\\____________________________ _ _ _ _ ____//
..
::
:: RiP iN PeACe!
::
::
::
::....................................................................