Albums by this artist

Someday My Blues Will Cover The Earth (2001)

His Name Is Alive

Someday My Blues Will Cover The Earth

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» TROY CARPENTER | CO-DIRECTOR

His Name Is Alive Someday My Blues Will Cover The Earth 4AD, 2001 RiYL: Angie Stone, David Byrne, Groove Theory

In its latest incarnation, the ever-mutating His Name Is Alive has stripped itself down to two principals, founding iconoclast Warn Defever and his best girl, the caramel-voiced Lovetta Pippen (Love and War, they cunningly nickname themselves in the liner notes). While in the past, HNIA has spread its atmospheric tentacles into a wide range of genres, skipping around delicately and experimenting like a moody Ween, Someday My Blues Will Cover The Earth is a far different animal: a gently flowing pure soul record.

As the story goes, Defever had grown so entranced with Pippen's voice through her appearances on the group's past few releases, including 1996'sStars On ESP and 1998's Ft. Lake, that he decided to make an album that would showcase it in full.

The result definitely works to that end. The sparse songs feature little more than organic beats and loops, with splashes of wah-ed guitar, compressed keyboards and old transistor crackle supporting Pippen's melodic leads. Rarely does the record stray from that formula, though "Karin's Blues" sounds more like a dusty old jazz-lounge theme, complete withbrushed snares and a whiskey-soaked piano. The earthy, subdued packaging fits the sound of the album as well, contributing to the old-time R&B feel.

Standout tracks include the leadoff "Nothing Special" and the addictive "Write My Name In The Groove." "One Year" sets itself apart with its double-time rhythm and intriguing lyric: "If you had a year to live / do you know who you'd like to spend it with? / would you like to be alone?" Someday also boasts a subdued remake of an early His Name Is Alive track, "Are We Still Married."

This is one of those instances where a record seems strange to the ear only because it's, well, normal. Or at least more "normal" than expected. It's the kind of straight-up soul/R&B album I would expect to hear from a young urban Clive Davis protege rather than the 12-year-old experimental project of a white guy from Livonia, Michigan who oozes indie cred. But that's also part of the album's charm -- it's warm and unexpected. This ain't my favorite album of the year, but I have to hand it to Defever and Pippen for creating such a heartfelt recording and I do wish them the best of luck with that covering-the-earth thing.

TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.