The Soil & The Sun

I just sent Michael Kaufmann of Asthmatic Kitty seven tracks from the Ordinary Neighbors recordings to get some feedback. He was one of the FFM judges. I've worked with him to book a few of their bands here at Hope College. Michael reminded me of bandcamp.com. I just looked up the Grand Rapids band, the Soil & the Sun who we've had here on campus a few times as well. A few years ago we sold out an Anathallo show at the Knickerbocker Theater. Then Anathallo stopped playing shows. My first crass thought was that the Soil & the Sun could fill the void left by Anathallo. I love promoting local bands even more than the national tours. It is great to see locals and the independents succeed. That comparison between the two bands was too easy since it is just a matter of observing that both bands have a stage filled with people (what? 6 to 9? I've seen S & S in various configurations), both bands bust into large, anthemic moments with several players on various drums. While these obvious similarities may be true, I have to move beyond my initial impulse of relating one band to another. I tend to frustrate artists with these knee jerk typological tendencies. Alex and his wife with the bass player came to here us play the pizza joint a few weeks ago. Jacob had called them last second on a whim to invite. Anyway, their music is so good and they are so kind, the least I can do is give them a big, hearty congratulations for doing what they do. I think what is most stunning is their dynamic range moving from very intimate, lyricism to intense, rage-filled lamentation. Oh, and the beats. Two drummers (for them at least) is the deal.

BUY their music here at their bandcamp site.

I just listened to that EP twice.

Here is a pic by the great Chris Cox of the Soil & the Sun playing Jacob Bullard's (who I mentioned in a previous post) CD release show at Dimnent Chapel. Click on the pic to see the full width.