speed of dark

Listening to Keep Your Eyes Ahead, the fourth album by Portland's The Helio Sequence, my immediate first thought was, "God, this is beautiful!" I allowed myself to put away my analyzing and just enjoy it. When the last song ended, I thought, "Is that ALL???" and played it all the way through again.

Comparing these songs to those on earlier albums, I can see why I never really got into HS before. These songs are shorter and tighter than many of those on past albums, and more focused lyrically and musically. Brandon Summers (guitar, Vocals) and Benjamin Weikel (keyboards, drums) have made a natural progression from their 2004 predecessor Love and Distance, with no weak or throw-away tracks this time.

This is the first album I've heard this year where I can enthusiastically endorse the whole thing. It has just the right combination of acoustic guitar and layers of electronic keyboards that I liked about Iron and Wine's The Shepherd's Dog last year.

This is a happy album, in fact, "Hallelujah" makes you want to jump up and wave your arms over your head. "Shed Your Love" is a simple telling of how love can be shrugged off as easily as a coat, while the title track that follows is big, bouncy, and joyful. "Broken Afternoon" is Dylanesque in its lyrics and phrasing, and the last song, "No Regrets," is full-out hoe-down. It's all good.

Can't Say No from Keep Your Eyes Ahead (2008)
Blood Bleeds from Love and Distance (2004)
Demographics from Com Plex (2000)

MySpace | Website | Label: Subpop
Buy at Subpop Shop, HS MySpace, iTunes, and Amazon.com

The Helio Sequence will be appearing at SXSW 2008