Human Highway, "Moody Motorcycle"
I raved about my boy (Island's) Nick Thorburn's side project Human Highway a few weeks ago, and the album is out today. You can stream it at their MySpace page.
Of course I would be remiss if I didn't give love to Thorburn's partner in this endevor, Jim Guthrie, who I believe spent a stint as Island's guitarist. He's great.
The songs are lovely and less weird than those of Thorburn's main gig. They've got a bluesy, kind of stoner rock feel to them, with simple guitar, base and drums scoring. "What World" gets a little dramatic with orchestral and synthetic flourishes, but for the most part, these songs are pretty chill.
More after the jump.
Thorburn definitely has a head for lyrics. In Unicorns (his old band) and Islands, this usually comes out in macabre imagery of grisly murders or skeletons and ghosts. Here, he trains his eye on the mundane act of just living, but the result is no less beautiful. On "Sleep Talking" he croons, "You're leaving your bed/ Got ideas in your head/ but if they remain a dream/ you know it's criminal." It's a minor-key paean to the struggle between struggling with the real world and just turning over pulling the covers over your head.
Their harmonies are Beatle-esque (or even CSN-esque at times) and the songs are soothing without being sleep inducing. It's a good album for the fall, a season I find bittersweet; a new school-year always promised endless possibilities, but I hated saying goodbye to summer.
—eh
