worth passin along

I’m cheating on Christina Aguilera.

She got booted from the number one slot in the car cd changer.

I love her – I do. It just that…Sister Hazel has a new cd out. There’s something about Sister Hazel that just makes everything feel…better. Warm. Happy. Relaxed. Sunny. They’ve been through a lot with me over the years. I guess once you’ve sat in your car and cried about some heartbreak or another while a certain band plays in the background, their music just sticks with you. Once you’ve listened to a song after a breakup, or during a hard decision, or on your way to a new job, or out the door of an old job, or on your way to a first date, or once you’ve played the same cd to death while you packed up for college, or unpacked inside your first apartment, that band is with you for the long haul.

That band for me: Sister Hazel. They’re like a good pair of jeans worn in just right; like a perfect pair of black heels; like that favorite threadbare t-shirt – always comfortable, reliable, impossible to replace. I’ll even forgive the irritating “All For You” radio single that seems to be the singular association most people have when they hear the name “Sister Hazel.”

I loved their stripped down early days – the garage recordings with the offbeat a capella anthems. They had gutsy harmony and eccentric guitar. I was hooked on their first major studio release, “Fortress,” played it non-stop for MONTHS at a time. Inflicted it on everybody. They took a slightly over-produced turn with their next two albums “Chasing Daylight” and “Lift.” Neither took enough advantage of their quirky vocals, or those beautiful riffs that go up and up and up and up – signature Sister Hazel…it felt like the heart of their music just couldn’t quite get out…it was buried a little. The vocals ended up mixed waaaaay too far into the background – a pity because that meant missing out on the poeticism of their lyrics, my favorite part about them. They’ve got a groovy, backyard-barbeque vibe to their upbeat songs, but the melancholy tunes: those are the gems. Somehow at the same time dejected and optimistic, their lonely, heartbroken ballads with fantastically literary lyrics always stick with me…

At any rate, they’ve found a happy studio medium with “Absolutely.” It’s one of those cd’s that sounded familiar the first time I listened to it – liked it on the first listen. It’s happy music. It’s sitting-in-traffic music. It’s music to toss on when you finally get fed up and HAVE to spend a weekend cleaning the house (oh…is that just me…). To me, they’re a writer’s band. They appreciate plays on words, unexpected phrasing and lyrical imagery.

Just what I needed during a dreary week when I can’t quite pull myself out of the blahs…music that makes me appreciate writing in a new way. It made a grey, dreary day a little cozier.

Now, if I could just find music that would finally force me to write all of those thank-you notes. Sigh...

And in case you missed the honeymoon pictures, they're HERE