The Blue Herons
Go On
(Subjangle)
This is the debut album from The Blue Herons, but it doesn’t seem like it. The songs on Go On have all appeared as digital singles over the past few years. The project originally started out as a vehicle for master instrumentalist, Andy Jossi, to showcase his love of jangle guitar pop. Jossi originally started recording and releasing instrumental songs before reaching out to various vocalists to help him “complete” them. I put “complete” in quotes, because Jossi’s wonderfully detailed music is incredibly dramatic and absolutely great without the addition of vocals. During that weird year of 2020, The Blue Herons released the single “In the Skies,” with Gretchen DeVault seamlessly adding lyrics and vocals. If you’ve bothered to read these silly music missives I occasionally write, you may recognize DeVault’s name. These two have teamed up for ten more fantastic singles since. I became a supporter of Gretchen’s music going back to when I first heard the 2004 song “I Wanna Know” by her band The Icicles – an incredibly refreshing pop song that evokes the fun teenage love songs by 60s girl groups. Subsequently, DeVault has explored different sounds through other outlets such as the melancholic dream pop of Voluptuous Panic, and the pristine indie pop of The Francine Odysseys, as well as adding her fantastic vocals to the fun Hero No Hero project before settling in as a full-time collaborator with Andy Jossi and The Blue Herons.
In this new era of digital singles and artist’s having more direct contact with their followers, first albums like this are likely to become the norm. In the past, a ‘best of’ or singles collection might come out after an artist has reached a certain level of tenure and/or popularity, but this debut album is already a singles collection and it plays like one. Every single song is incredibly addictive and beg for excited repeated listens. Jossi’s other fairly well known project, The Churchhill Garden, with Whimsical vocalist Krissy Vanderwoude, finds him creating incredible extended dreamy vistas that build and build in intensity and volume like the Kitchens of Distinction used to do with regularity. The Blue Herons, on the other hand, have a more straight forward sound that, while still dreamy, has more in common with the more upbeat songs by the 80s line up of The Church with the added strength of Gretchen’s spectacular vocal melodies.
I want to highlight particular songs, but it’s difficult because all of these songs have been favorites as they’ve been released over the past four years. I think “Talking to Ghosts,” however, is the cream of an especially bountiful crop. Jossi channels a Johnny Marr-esque arrangement and the dynamic orchestral chorus is absolutely stunning, as are DeVault’s vocals. Of course, there is also the more driving and urgent “Autumn Leaves,” whose life affirming chorus is downright invigorating and motivational. Surprisingly, The Blue Herons took on a cover of Joy Division’s all-timer “Disorder.” At a glance, this might seem an odd choice, or a mismatch, but I can assure you, as a massive Joy Division fan, I find this to be the best cover I’ve heard. Gone are the harsh shards of sounds atop the dark echoing rumbles of the original, but added is a different kind of urgency and warmth. The approach is different, yet the end result is similar in that as a listener you’ve been taken on an epic adventure. Plus I absolutely love the buzzing close and wish that it didn’t fade out.
Though most of these songs were released as singles prior to the album, there is added value in checking this out, because here the songs have been worked on – enhanced, plus there is a great alternate version of the yearning “Echoes in the Dust.” If you have not checked The Blue Herons out previously, this is not only the perfect place to start, I would say it’s mandatory.
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