Accidentally Falling for The Lumineers (Music Monday)"
Automatic....for the People!
It’s another Music Monday! If you’re a new reader, I have No Rules on this substack. While I often write about Podcasting, it’s not a Podcasting Blog. And even in terms of Music Monday, if I don’t have something, I don’t force an article.
Today I do have something I am excited about! The Lumineers new album Automatic.
I first heard of The Lumineers entirely by…hearing them live!
They were the opening act for U2's Joshua Tree Revisited tour stop in Philly, and my daughter and I were doing what most people do during the opening act – chatting, checking phones, maybe grabbing one last beer before the headliner. Then suddenly we both stopped and looked at each other: "Hey, these guys are actually really good."
Later, I'd discover their albums provided the perfect soundtrack for 6am two hour drives to weekend soccer tournaments with my younger daughter. I could play "Cleopatra" on repeat for an hour straight and never get bored. There's something about the way their folksy, stripped-down sound cuts through early morning fog that just works.
Fast forward to now – I've got tickets to see The Lumineers at Citi Field later this summer, and they've got a new album called "Automatic" that dropped on Valentine's Day. And yes, I like it. A lot. But I'll admit I haven't spent as much time with it as I would have a few years back. Empty nest syndrome strikes again – no more two-hour drives to soccer tournaments means less dedicated listening time. Plus I have 140 Podcasts downloaded to my phone right now (that’s a real number) and fortunately I haven’t had insomnia lately to cut down that number.
So for now, it’s two or three Lumnieers at a time as I run out to get food.
The album opener "Same Old Song" caught me immediately with its slightly more uptempo approach than what I'm used to from them.
"Asshole" (yes, that's really the title, not a fan, I tend to make Marge Simpson Face at such vulgarity) has "Dead Sea" vibes from their earlier work – introspective, self-deprecating, but somehow still comforting. Wesley Schultz has always had a gift for making songs about human flaws feel like a warm blanket.
Title track "Automatic" is slower - and every time I see the word Automatic in this context, I think of REM and Automatic For The People, which isn’t the worst comparison here.
What's interesting about this album is how it feels both familiar and different. On my first listen, I felt like if you handed me a lyric sheet that I could have sang along. You can feel teh chord changes coming, and that’s some nice comfort food.
The Lumineers are clearly pushing themselves a bit, trying to evolve their sound without abandoning what made people fall in love with them in the first place. It's a tricky needle to thread.
I'm curious how these songs will translate to a stadium setting at Citi Field. Their music has always felt intimate to me – like it should be heard in a small club or, ideally, someone's living room with a fireplace going. But then again, the first time I heard them was in a football stadium.
Will "Automatic" end up producing another "Ho Hey" or "Ophelia" that becomes a staple of their live shows? Too early to tell, but "Same Old Song" seems the most likely candidate to break through to that level. Personally, I’m into “Plasticine.”
This paragraph is supposed to be some sort of tie it all thesis statement. I don’t have one other than - Good album, check it out.