I’m not sure how I first heard of Hem. I can only assume that one of their songs was being played on late night radio in 2002, the year that their first album came out. I say this because I remember it being one of the first things I bought on line as I am pretty sure that it was only available on import at the time. Being so long ago, they were one of the first bands who had a website that I knew of where the band would upload songs that were not on the debut album for people to download. The bitrate of those recordings must have been very low compared to what we expect now, but it was nice to access that otherwise unavailable material.
It is hard to describe the music of Hem. Is it folkie, roots or Americana? I just think of it as beautiful. The band at the time were not really a band at all, but a studio based project for songwriter Dan Messe and producer Gary Maurer. They spent a considerable amount of time looking for a singer for this project, but after listening to a great number of bizarre and unlistenable demo tapes, they almost gave up with the project. However, Sally Ellyson contacted Messes and sent him a tape of a cappella recordings, but she did warm him she was not really a singer. However, Messe knew that Ellyson was the right person for his music and the groups debut album ‘Rabbit Songs’ duly followed.
The band then began touring and continued release music but as of this post, nothing new has come out since 2015 which is a shame. I always looked forward to a new Hem release and it was annoying when some of the songs from disc one in this collection were not available on Spotify. I would highly recommend you get yourself a copy of ‘Rabbit Songs’ and discover for yourself the beauty that is Hem especially as there looks to be a deluxe edition of that album in the pipeline, and the possibility of it being released on vinyl for the first time. Personally, I cannot wait.
Disc 1
- Lord, Blow The Moon Out Please
- When I Was Drinking
- Half Acre
- Idle (The Rabbit Song)
- Stupid Mouth Shut
- All That I’m Good For
- St. Charlene
- Redwing
- Dance With Me, Now Darling
- Betting On Trains
- Burying Song
- The Cuckoo
- Receiver
- Night Like A River
- Pacific Street
- Leave Me Here
- Sailor
- Horsey
- Hollow
- Strays
- My Father’s Waltz
- The Beautiful Sea
- Living Without You
- Lazy Eye
- Carry Me Home
Disc 2
- Polly’s Dress
- The Fire Thief
- Hotel Fire
- The Jack Pine
- Bird Song
- Seven Angels
- Not California
- While My Hand Was Letting Go
- I’ll Dream Of You Tonight
- We’ll Meet Along The Way
- He Came To Meet Me
- The Pills Stopped Working
- Funnel Cloud
- Reservoir
- Curtains
- Great Houses Of New York
- The Burnt-Over District
- Old Adam
- Half Asleep
- The Part Where You Let Go
- The Seed
- So Long
- Gently Down The Stream
- Traveller’s Song
- A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes
- Almost Home
- Now The Day Is Over