Editor’s note: Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.
Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student worker Claire (class of 2020) and features the 2012 self-titled debut album by American folk rock band The Lumineers. Thanks, Claire!
The Lumineers
The Lumineers
This original studio album, released by the Lumineers back in 2012, remains one of my favorite albums of all times. While “Ho Hey” might have been the most popular song to reach national radio stations and launch the Lumineers’ career, some of the more subtle songs on this track are ones that I listen to on repeat while taking a walk, studying for a test, or falling asleep. In particular, “Dead Sea” and “Slow it Down” are two songs that I have fond memories of singing to in the car as I drove around my suburban town with my mom back in high school. The songs off this album provide unique narratives, yet are open enough to allow for personal application and interpretation of lyrics and melodies.
![David Lee [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)]](https://i0.wp.com/blog.richmond.edu/parsons/files/2019/12/The_Lumineers_2013.jpg?resize=584%2C438)
The Lumineers have an extremely unique sound in my opinion. Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites, the two songwriters of the group, craft beautiful lyrics that are both relatable and mysterious, harkening back to a bye-gone era of simpler times. Violinist Lauren Jacobson, pianist Stelth Ulvang, bassist/backing vocalist Byron Isaacs, multi-instrumentalist Brandon Miller and cellist/vocalist Neyla Pekarek all add to the complex layering and strong beats backing each song.
Since the initial release of The Lumineers album in 2012, the Lumineers have released two studio albums. In 2016, they released Cleopatra which went platinum. Then, on September 13th, the Lumineers released their third full-length album titled III. The band began their international tour on November 6th in Munich, and will begin the North American portion of their tour in Chicago on December 7th. If you are interested in catching one of their concerts near Richmond, you can see them perform in Charlottesville on February 16, 2020 or in Washington DC on February 28, 2020.
