Let’s face it – the accordion is the sweetest instrument in the history of foreverness. The few contemporary bands that have incorporated it appropriately in their music have produced monstrous cult acts (Arcade Fire, Beirut). And Hey Marseilles’ new album, To Travels & Trunks, does the accordion and analogue music wonders with their refreshingly polyphonic arrangements.
This Seattle seven-man outfit delivers orchestral pop divinity on their debut album released June 29th 2010. Cello, piano, viola, accordion, acoustic and electric guitar are all provocatively layered and synthesized with each other throughout the album. The opening track, “Marseilles,” starts with a beautiful and delicate piano solo then erupts into a grandiose display of the entire band – one of the best instrumental tracks of 2010. And songs like “Gasworks” and “Rio” exhibit the depth and control of their musical knowledge. The instruments weave through thick and cohesive layers in 6/8 meter joined by intriguing lyrics -- poetic thoughts that range from dreamy love to moody warnings like the “Rio” line, “Love is a hazard in lower Manhattan / You cannot escape / And mustn’t be saddened.”
At times though, this well-crafted album loses its direction. A mixture between haphazard lyrics that just do not stick and songs that struggle to end interfere with the ebb and flow of the album. There are probably better places for the solo guitar and vocal arrangements that are scattered amongst many of the tracks on the album. Or maybe there are too many of them.
Hey Marseilles should be very proud of To Travels & Trunks – debut albums of this caliber are not an every day occurrence. It takes a keen mind to control and mix genres and these Seattle boys combine folk and orchestral arrangements as effortlessly as Sufjan Stevens. So if you weren’t sold solely on the fact that these guys rock an accordion, pick up the album because you owe it to yourself to hear some of the best music of the year.
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