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January 27th, 2009 by Foxopoly Downward Is Heavenward
I’m not sure if everyone has life-changing albums in their collection. I believe that many albums have potential to touch people in powerful ways, but if the timing or situation isn’t right it’s a loss. I have a couple that have impacted me on a high level. Hum’s masterpiece 1998 Downward Is Heavenward was their second album released on RCA Records and their fourth all in all. The Champaign Urbana four-piece were initially signed in the early nineties when grunge was on high and labels were tripping over each other to sign bands that sounded like the giants of the moment. Hum were a slow burner and received some minor attention for their single “Stars” which was popular on rock radio. They also made appearances in some fashion on MTV and The Howard Stern Show. Howard was so taken by the song that he famously had the band set up their gear right in the studio to perform live. For lack of space, Bryan St. Pere actually had to set up his kit out in the hallway and be live miced into the mix. Interestingly enough “Stars” has had another resurgance last year when it popped up in Cadillac ads that aired during the Superbowl. The spots continued to run throughtout most of 2008.
DIH was released on January 27th, 2008. I resided in Athens, Ga. at the time and remember making a night run to Best Buy on release day to snag the final or only copy they had. The rainy drive back home was accompanied by this new sonic soundtrack as would virtually the whole rest of my stay in the south. Hum had explored a sound on their previous album ”You’d Prefer An Astronaut” that was one part space, one part science and one part sonic, but due to the poor production values came in under potential. Not so with DIH as the level of production is superior allowing the band dynamics to shine in high gloss. I know every lyric and note on this album. However that doesn’t mean I know what the hell any of the songs are about. It just doesn’t matter. Every song is open to ones interpretation and imagination and that I think that’s where a lot of the beauty lies. Matt Talbott and Tim Lash’s guitars intertwine into a seemless coalescion that borders on cacaphony. Talbott’s heart-felt lyrics deal with love and loss through metaphor utilizing all things space, science & nature. Jeff Dempsy’s bottom end along with St. Pere’s drumming skills are pummeling. This album is all meat and potatoes as far as instrumentation recorded before pro-tools was a norm and auto-tune was a standard. Yet, the band pull off a sound that is otherworldly. All in all, sonic & thunderous bliss with moments of tranquility and calm thrown in for a special dynamic. DIH was not a commercial success though it yielded two very minor singles; “Comin’ Home” and “Green To Me” with accompanying videos for each. The band toured the US in support of the album throughout 1998. I was lucky enough to catch Hum live in March of 2008 all amidst cramming for mid-terms and a wicked case of strep throat. No one likes to go anywhere stressed out and sick, but I will never forget that show. It was not only incredible, but ranks as one of the loudest shows I’ve been to. Now it’s 10+ years later and this album is still fresh to me and I know I’m not the only one. A small clutch of people know what I’m talking about and remain dedicated Hum fan’s even though the band haven’t released any recordings since. However, encouragingly enough they have managed to reunite a handful of times over the years, once in 1995 for the Furnace Fest and another three times in late ‘08 and early ‘09 for New Years in Chicago. Will any of these recent gigs lead to studio sessions? I highly doubt it. If that be the case then Downward Is Heavenward was a great place to end. Spend 52 minutes and 04 seconds with this album. It’s a tragically underrated gem. You can thank me later. |
