Great Northern
Remind Me Where the Light Is
Eenie Meenie
Great Northern are not a band to be listened to casually. They are to be absorbed and savored – like a fine red wine. Trying to listen to Remind Me Where the Light Is, the band’s sophomore release, as background music doesn’t work. The subtleties in tone, and warm bath vocals of both Rachel Stolte and Solon Bixler can’t be fully appreciated while heard on auto-pilot. They may leave you feeling soothed, but not moved.
Before pressing play on this modest Eenie Meenie release, finish your dinner, snap on the headphones and let it pull you away. THEN try to allow the expansiveness of “Fingers,” the boldness of “House” and “Mountain,” or the quiet ache of “Stop” to pass over you so quickly. Can you hear the drum beat in “Numbers,” that feels like a sequel to U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday?” And the eerie vibes of “New Tricks” that suddenly sound so lush and sexy once they’ve been given your undivided attention? How could the intermingling of Stolte’s and Bixler’s voices on “Warning” not have nailed you to the ground upon the first listen?
Like 2007’s Trading Twilight for Daylight, this worthy follow-up is cinematic in scope and as epic as a great novel that you wish would never end. It’s just a matter of cracking it open and falling into the story.
Great Northern: http://www.greatnorthernmusic.com
