New breeze through the Helio Sequence window
with the new self titled album release
My dear indieberliners, how deep in your heart is American indie pop rock duo The Helio Sequence from Beaverton, Oregon? They are deep in mine for sure. They really got me with their fifth album Negotiations from 2012. I just couldn’t help myself having Open Letters and Silence on Silence on repeat.
They’re masters of the use of introspective lyrics revived through the subtle tact and distinctive deep instrumental sound which have become their trademark and musical signature. Through the years of making music since their beginnings in 1999 they have been growing and developing their eminently recognizable music identity. The duo reached the point where they could stay in that comfort zone of their established music reputation or to do something courageous. There’s no need to guess what their next move was. They turned their sails into the wind to push them forward.
The result is a new direction, outlined in the first song Battle Lines
Forward to the new sixth album The Helio Sequence released this month, May 19th , which is their “new sound, this is their identity now”, as they’ve stated. The new album is no reinvention of the existing but a fresh and coloured approach to combining the power of their three fundamental instruments – guitars, drums and keyboards. The result is a new direction, outlined in the first song Battle Lines, and which indicates the new breeze of the Helio Sequence.
The refined quality of their music is the result of an interesting contest, the “20–song game” – coming up with 20 songs a day – that provided a huge amount of musical material in just one month. They ended up with a pile of 26 tracks and they carefully selected the 10 lyrically and musically strongest songs. And if you ask me, they more than succeeded. I simply love the positive and summerish vibes of their wonderfully composed music.
My own “on repeat” song is here Leave Or Be Yours
After the perfect first song’s entrance the Stoic Resemblance makes you sway vivaciously wherever you’re listening the album, and you don’t stop even on the next one – Red Shifting – and on the next one – Upward Mobility. My own “on repeat” song is here Leave Or Be Yours – melodic story of staying or leaving and where all three instruments make their own synchronic statement. Follows Deuces with catchy lyrics of “i don’t wanna be cool, I don’t wanna be deuces”. Acoustic Inconsequential Ties, deep Seven Hours, distant Phantom Shore harmonically flow from one to another when suddenly you are faced with the closing track Never Going Back, a gentle promise to keep heading ahead.
Dear indieberliner, you are more than welcome to find your own “on repeat” Helio song perfect for groovin’ in the car driving to the seaside with the wind ruffling your hair.
Review by Petra Gorisek.
