Anniversary Cheers: Hem’s debut album “Rabbit Songs” celebrates its 25th birthday

Folk roots band’s highly praised debut album is re-released as a remastered digital offering, an added track and a first time ever vinyl edition.

Hem was a band that came, stayed a while, then went, and now, several years later appear to be preparing for the release of some new music. In the meantime, and in anticipation of an as-yet-undefined new album,  “Rabbit Songs” is given a 25^th anniversary re-release. “It’s beloved by the people who found it, but it wasn’t found by as many people I think would really enjoy it,” says the group’s Dan Messé, not in an arrogant way but tempered by the history of the album’s release.   The album had a mixed journey, despite the fact that it was highly praised by the music press at the time; initially self-released in 2000, it gained a certain traction in 2001 when Setanta re-released it in the UK, then Bar/None globally in 2002, Dreamworks in 2003, and, after that label was absorbed into Universal, Rounder reissued it in 2005, following the release of their sophomore album “Eveningland” on that label. And then one of the tracks, the rather beautiful ‘Half Acre’, was used in an ad and captured the public’s imagination  Hence Messé’s comment.

So, who are Hem? The band is the brainchild of the aforementioned Messé, songwriter pianist and glockenspiel player, and producer guitarist Gary Maurer, who decided in 1999 that they wanted to make and release music together, with their multi-instrumentalist friend Steve Curtis (guitar/mandolin/banjo). You can imagine the drift of their musical stylings by the instrumental line-up but it needed a certain vocal style to make their vision work. After a failed shout-out, they received a message from one Sally Ellyson, who admitted to “not really being a singer”, but who, in fact, proved to be a voice of purity and beauty perfectly suited to their wistful, laid-back songs.

Sadly, after a run of albums culminating in 2013’s rather prescient “Departure and Farewell”, various problems hit the group; marriage stresses and divorces, addiction to painkillers, strains within the group and a feeling that the creative juices had run their course; and, although they did not officially break up, nothing was released. A couple of years ago there were indications that new music might be forthcoming, but, as they have acknowledged their slowness in getting music released, progress has been a bit slow. But, working on a vinyl release of “Rabbit Songs” together with a remastering of the digital version has led to the re-release of their iconic debut.

And what is their sound? Fundamentally it is a folk album with quasi-classical orchestration based around piano and strings (with subtle additions of brass and woodwind), but you can pick out a melange of styles –some Appalachian bluegrass (‘The Cuckoo’), traditional and contemporary country folk (the wonderful, lilting ‘When I Was Drinking‘or the piano/violin driven ‘Leave Me Here‘, which is a great demonstration of Ellyson’s vocal range), a dash of very laid back country rock (‘Stupid Mouth Shut‘), some classical piano supported by reflective strings (the tinkly and absorbing ‘Half Acre‘), a little lounge jazz (the beautifully gentle ‘The Sailor‘, without doubt the standout track and specially written for Ellyson’s outstanding vocals), some country roots (the unexpectedly funky ‘Night Like a River‘) and some jazzy acapella gospel (the opening 28-second track ‘Lord Blow the Moon out Please’ which is the cassette-recorded sample that Ellyson sent as part of her audition for the lead vocal role).

At its original release a couple of critics gave it the moniker‘chamber-folk’, based on the largely folky songs with lush orchestral arrangements, but on some tracks there is a meatier sound with swirling steel, electric guitar and pulsing bass, delivering its americana vibe – ‘All That I’m Good For‘ has a rootsy sound with its fine acoustic guitar solo and pedal steel battling against the strings.

Ellyson delivers these different styles with consummate ease – her voice is beautiful, clear and warm when necessary and somewhat calmly aloof on others – she can whisper or roar as required but for the most part it is an even instrument, around which Dan Messé weaves his instrumental magic. That instrumentation is largely in the hands of the aforementioned band members with some string, horn or wind embellishments, guest violins courtesy of Heather Zimmerman, particularly on the beautiful instrumental ‘Waltz’ a classical duet with Messé on piano, or Andy Stein, and there is sumptuous steel guitar in the very capable hands of Bob Hoffnar, lending a country-ish vibe to a number of tracks. And there are two other whimsical instrumentals. ‘Burying Song’  has oboe and flute accompaniment, and ‘Polly’s Dress’ has string and woodwind in the background along with Tim McCarthy’s subtle French horn. The short track ‘Lazy Eye‘ has a very traditional early American parlour-song feel, with just piano and a spirited violin.

The additional number is the lovely soft country rocker ‘St Charlene’, which sounds a little more ‘produced’ than the rest of the tracks even though it was recorded around the same time. Messé decided it was not suitable for the album at the time because of its ‘fuller’ sound. Messé wrote nearly all the songs; musically they are collectively delightful, lyrically they address a variety of themes: alcoholism, nostalgia, vulnerability, inadequacy, home and isolation. Overall it is an album that does not attempt to hide its influences, of which there are several, but plays on them to great advantage to produce an unusually creative mix.

25 years on and you now have the remastered version of these glorious tracks – it may take you a few listens to really appreciate the masterful orchestrations or the subtle lyrics, although you will gain an instant appreciation of the wonderful voice of Sally Ellyson; and if you value the vinyl experience, this will certainly be an album to explore. Hem upped the ante with their sophomore album “Eveningland”, an equally beguiling listen but with a more expansive production, so if you like your folk music recognisably acoustic but with some cinematic embellishments “Rabbit Songs” is a treat.  A few years ago our colleague Rick Bayles profiled the group for our Forgotten Artists feature series – it would be nice to think they will not be ‘forgotten’ for long.