CD Review: Hendrick’s We Share The Sky

by Kaitlin Parker

Hendrick could serve as the perfect unobtrusive accompaniment to those humdrum moments in life that have the potential to be momentousâif only you had a soundtrack backing you up.

Hendrick could serve as the perfect unobtrusive accompaniment to those humdrum moments in life that have the potential to be momentousâif only you had a soundtrack backing you up. Have an extended car ride with your mother, brother, lover, or complete stranger coming up? Hendrick is a safe bet to play. Composed of six guys and just as many and sometimes more instruments, Hendrick is quasi-contemplative pop that doesn’t invite scream your heart out sing-alongs but more likely relaxed conversation. Hence the usefulness for a car ride.

And for those really long journeys, don’t worry about keeping We Share the Sky on repeat--the album is much more appealing upon second listening. Appropriately enough, on this release, Hendrick is not singing about love at first sight or one night stands but long-term relationships and the depths of soul-bearing and heartbreak potentially involved. It’s hard to be hooked on such heavy material with one listen.

Opening with the title track, initially I had a brief, but all too vivid flashback to high school pep-rallies, as I could have sworn Jock Jams Vol. II was blasting from my speakers, but the tune thankfully tones down the bass and takes on a more spiritual feelâthink “We Will Rock of Ages You” rather than “We Will Rock You.” With no distinct lyrics but some interesting background vocals, the transition into “Everytime You Say Goodbye” is flawless, the deep vocals and guitar work now evocative of The Calling.

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The album continues with smooth transitions and a mellow rock pop feel throughout, but the range of the band shouldn’t be discredited. Josh Hendrick’s vocals run the gamut, sometimes sounding like Rufus Wainwright (with a kickin’ piano to match) and other times coming across as refined and British as a post-indoctrinated Eliza Dolittle. Listen to “Alive” and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

The lyrics are sometimes lacking as in “Black & White World” when there are too many clichÃ©d syllables squeezed awkwardly into too few beats. “Too Much Distance” also suffers, six minutes is too long to sing about a girl who moved away and now he dreams about her and wonders if she dreams about him. Hendrick comes across as so naively sincere that even at their most autopilot pop, one feels a twinge of guilt shutting them off mid-song.

Towards the end of the album, I think “Esos Ojos” is Hendrick’s attempt to be Peter Gabriel, trying to make a John Cusack bookbox bearing ballad for the 21st century crowd - an apparently bilingual one at that. In a superior example of function matching form, the move into the last track, also instrumental, is as seamless as the one out of the first. Creating a hermetic loop of an album, the patient listener is ultimately given a renewed reminder of the interconnectedness of humanityânot a bad present from pretty boy pop band.

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Anonymous

Alan Cohen, says:

Interesting observation about the range of Josh's vocals. I've only ever heard him sing one song, but I was really impressed with how strong a voice he had when he performed in office last week. A lot of times a voice can be made to sound strong on an album with a little studio magic, but in his case, its legit.