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Some songs are delicately constructed with careful little fingers, and others are exorcised like writhing demons. For New Brunswick, NJ's GLAD HEARTS, the writing process involves a little bit of both. On one hand, the band delivers fragile, summery folk hymns that quiver with equal parts indie rock sensitivity and dusty, booksmart poetry. Simultaneously, singer-songwriter Ryan Bing dumpster dives through the darkest moments of life – both his and others – and lays out his findings for all to see. But what he's mining for isn't cheap tragedy, but hope. Hope against hope, hope against hard times, hope against some Salinger-esque struggle in sad, slow-motion summertime. "All alone together, we will raise those roof beams high," Bing croons on the opening track of GLAD HEARTS' debut album, The Oak and the Acorn. Holden Caulfields of the worlds, unite. "I think of myself as a closet optimist," Bing admits. "A few people have told me they think the stories in a lot of our songs are sort of sad. I don't see them that way at all. I feel like they're stories of struggle. Everybody has to struggle to try to make their life the way they want it, and I'm inspired when I see other people working towards an ethical vision of how life should be for themselves and the people around them, especially when what they want seems like a long shot, but they're willing to work for it anyway." Produced by the band's own multi-instrumentalist John Valencia, The Oak and the Acorn is a difficult album to ignore, in part because of its naked emotionalism, in part because of its vibrant, intimate recording, thanks to the work of Matt Shane (Grammy award winner, Flight of the Conchords), Chris Moore (TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Scarlett Johansson), Michael White (Talking Heads, David Byrne, David Bowie) and John Schmersal (Enon, Brainiac), each of whom mixed tracks on the album. Adding to the nuance of the songs is a grab bag of instruments that includes guitar, mandolin, bass, keys, drums, piano, organ, banjo, accordion, saw, drums, trumpet and bottles. The result is a communal back-porch party for the inner English major in all of us, with seats reserved for fans of BRIGHT EYES, ARCADE FIRE and Bing's personal fave, NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL. "I love how adventurous they were," Bing says of his heroes. "I love how they were able to create something so surreal and intense that managed to speak so strongly to so many people." Those same qualities define the music of GLAD HEARTS. It's something quiet, seemingly plaintive and intensely personal, yet ultimately joyful and something to be shared, over fine china, paper plates or marshmallows on a stick. The seed for GLAD HEARTS was planted in 2007 when Valencia responded to a flier Bing had posted around town. The two toured the region with Bing singing and playing guitar and Valencia manning everything else, via a rigged drum set that allowed him to play percussion, keys and bass guitar simultaneously. The two met eventual full-time members Cassidy McGrath and Mallory Leonard while playing a show at their old house in New Brunswick, and the democratic indie band was born. House shows remain an important factor in the band's existence, a direct connection to the friends and fans who fueled successes like radio play, national touring and one particularly curious highlight referred to only as "The Providence with the indoor fireworks." "The whole thing has been a wild ride and one of the most personally fulfilling things I have ever done," says Bing. "I feel like there's so much good music out there that's inspired me, and so much beauty in the world in general, that I have to try to pay it all back in the very small way that I can, and music is the best way I can think of for me to do that." If that's not living with a glad heart, then what is?
C2009 Black Lodge Publicity |
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