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PRESS
Portland
Mercury
Willamette
Week
Portland
Monthly
" I often wonder: What if Simon and Garfunkel had been women?
Actually, the first time I ever wondered that was five minutes ago, while
listening to “That's the Way,” from Portland quartet What Hearts'
debut EP, Songs for Marjorie. The disc and that bittersweet, musically upbeat
tune in particular takes some melodic and vocal harmony cues from S&G.
The group also bears resemblance to classic Northwest bands from the Softies
to Dear Nora groups that may or may not be on What Hearts' radar; some of
this stuff is just in the air around here.
But spend too much time connecting the musical dots on What Hearts and
you'll miss the things the group does best. Three-way, all-girl vocal
harmonies are a tough beast to tame especially when you're laying down
sparkling guitar-picking and
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fiddle-playing and What Hearts fucking
nails it. Proof of this can be found in opener “Salmon River Mouth,”
on which frontwoman-guitarist Julie Vitells, guitarist Karin Nystrom and
fiddler Sophie Vitells sing like train whistles over drummer Sarah Fennel's
minimal, clacking beat. Like much of Songs for Marjorie, the instrumentation
here while well-played, tastefully understated and gorgeously recorded
is really a trampoline beneath the singers' feet. Julie Vitells writes
twisting, descriptive lyrical vignettes, but it's clear her real joy comes
from writing gorgeous harmonies to underscore the best couplets. That's
also what keeps me listening, past all the comparisons, again and again."
-Willamette Week
SKYSCRAPER REVIEW:
"On Songs for Marjorie, the new EP from What Hearts, the local trio is
not shy about their appreciation for the olden days of country music.
Thankfully they pay their dues without strained twang or lyrical content
forced beneath the Mason-Dixon line. Instead, What Hearts which began
as a songwriting project for Julie Vitells stacks the harmonies high while
keeping the pace at a tempered shuffle throughout this six-song offering.
It's not all front-porch folk strumming either; songs like the haunting
"Last Year" and "Don't Leave Me Danny" have a slight Chelsea Girl feel
to them. Regardless of where their influences take root, What Hearts have
just established a mighty foundation to build upon."
-Portland Mercury
"This CD has intrigued me. It's not what I would expect from a Portland,
Oregon-based indie-folk band. Of course, it helps that the primary players
in What Hearts don't really come from Portland's indie scene, but rather
from the old-time communities that have made Portland a folkie's heaven.
I was expecting music similar to Portland bands like Huck Notari, Lewi
Longmire, or Alela Diane. Organic dream-folk. But I was pleasantly surprised
to find that What Hearts' debut EP, Songs from Marjorie, is more akin
to the sounds of Britain's psych-folk scene in the late 70s. With shaky
vocals, eerie harmonies, lush strings, and strange, dream-like lyrics,
this music sounds like the kind of music Nick Drake would make if he were
still alive and living in Portland.
The core of What Hearts is made up of sister-duet Sophie and Julie Vitells.
Julie is the songwriter and Sophie is the fiddler. And what a fiddler!
She just may be one of the best kept secrets in Portland's old-time community.
Sophie toured with the Crooked Jades for a while and cut some absolutely
stunning tracks on their 2008 CD, Shining Darkness(highly recommended).
In What Hearts, her fiddling is understated, but satisfying, and it's
good to know that the musical gene has graced her sister, Julie, as well.
Must be a musical family! Julie's songs are simple, straight-forward,
and heart-felt. They fit perfectly with the shimmering guitarwork and
brush drumming. This is the kind of album that fits great with a summer
picnic and an autumn stroll. It's a new sound for the Portland roots music
scene and I hope it catches on. "
-Victory Music Review |
BIO
To this day, I've never heard the song "With or Without You" by
U2. I recently discovered that's considered strange. I know it's not something
to brag about, it's just the truth. You could say I've had an unusual path
to indie music.
I grew up both in Albuquerque and in an ashram in Kerala, India, listening
to klezmer and Israeli rock and roll with my spiritual seeker parents. I
left home at 16 and ran away into the crusty underground of anarchists and
hoboes, where I discovered a subculture that combines riding the rails with
old-timey American music. My first experience with an instrument was learning
to play guitar like the Carter Family. While crisscrossing the country in
boxcars and doing seasonal work for the Forest Service, I listened to old
ballads and developed a love for stories and tall tales.
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My
adventures and musical influences bubbled into a strange brew and several
years later I started writing pop songs, but I didn't really know what
a pop song was. I still don't. My music is a grab-bag of my experiences,
written by instinct instead of knowledge. Luckily, I found an amazing
band to make sense of it all. I am grateful to share this project with
Sarah Fennell (of Lost Lander), Courtney Sheedy (raised in the rock scene
in Detroit, now of Pt. Juncture, WA), Karin Nystrom (an incredible vocalist
and harmony writer) and my sister Sophie Vitells, a talented violinist
who has been by my side since I was 15 months old. My band brings their
pop and rock sensibilities and years of experience to my music, and I
would be hopelessly lost without them.
Our first full-length album will be out in May 2012. It was produced by
Victor Nash of Pt. Juncture, WA. These 10 songs were written in a converted
schoolbus named Marjorie. I did the conversion myself and am prouder of
it than anything I've ever done, other than this album. I hope the listener
will hear elements of tall tales, murder ballads, Jewish folk songs and
every adventure I've ever had. |
What
Hearts
