764-HERO's music gives you that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach after that special someone has either, a) broken up with you, or b) told you that they liked you. The tension that you feel in that situation is similar to the tension John Atkins and Polly Johnson create with just an electric guitar, a vocal, and a drum set. The recipe is simple, and that's what makes it special. The people creating this music seem to care so much, that it shows in every note they play and word they sing. You can't help but relate to it.
On their new record, Get Here and Stay, they decided to experiment with their insrumentation, and add James Bertram (of Red Stars Theory) on bass, guitar and keyboards. The result is a fuller, more lush sounding record. The simplicity isn't lost with the addition of another musician; Bertram chooses his musical moments tastefully, and adds another beautiful layer of melody with his bass lines. Polly Johnson's drumming and Atkins' guitar playing are just as inspired, but not as tense.
The inspiration behind the music on Get Here and Stay is different than that which drove 764-HERO's previous albums. While their earlier music fed off of raw emotion, their new music has a more reverent tone - it's almost as if life's peculiarities aren't as maddening, as they are awe inspiring.
If you like 764-HERO, check out:
764-HERO We're Solids
Modest Mouse Lonesome Crowded West
Smog Red Apple Falls
Hüsker Dü Candy Apple Grey
-- Jason Dearen
