Such a Young Heart

It's here. It's here. Did someone say it's here?

After a long wait, Blondfire's second full-length album finally came out today. That's good: I've listened to My Someday many, many times, along with the EPs Don't Whisper Lies, Holiday EP, the iTunes Live Session, and Where the Kids Are, which featured singles from this long-awaited new album, Young Heart.

As I've mentioned, Blondfire has been my indie band of choice for years, perhaps six or so. There are times when I listen to the brother/sister duo's music less, but always I keep returning to them. Through the end of high school and then through the end of college, their music has stayed relevant to me. With the release of each new single from Young Heart, it was strange to hear a new song from the same band I had listened to for so long. But each of these four songs has grown on me--deeply. So with the release of the full album, I found myself in the odd situation of having already connected to a third of the songs but not the rest.

The first listen took some getting used to. But by the second listen, I was growing more used to this group. As the title implies, Young Heart is all about living and enjoying life and enjoying dreams. It's unpretentious, simple, fun, atmospheric indie pop music. And it's the atmospheric part that lifts this album out from the crowd for me. This music takes you to a place where you can live, free of worry but somehow not free of responsibility. It doesn't tip over into being reckless or non-caring or candy-coated: it's more about the joy of following through with the decision to follow a certain path.

"Young Heart," followed by "Where the Kids Are," sets the tone for the album. "Waves," "Walking with the Giants," and "Hide and Seek" (all of which I adore) hint at a more complex past that hasn't always had pleasant emotional grounds; but they bring the mood to joyful recovery and resolution. "Dear in Your Headlights" is sort of the decision to enjoy life; "Kites" is the day dream. Surprisingly, I'm enjoying "Wild and Wasted." It doesn't have to be a song about getting drunk (like half the things on the radio): it's more about that moment of unrestrained imagination that you can associate with drinking. And it has a catchy tune. "We Are One" is the slowest song on the album, and I didn't find much particularly interesting about "Life of the Party." "Right Goes Wrong" is a little reminiscent of "Hide and Seek." The final song, "The Only Ones," makes me sad. Perhaps I'm just reading in some of my own thoughts to the lyrics, but I'm consequently having trouble with this song. Am I the only one who gets sad by it? It seems odd to have a sad song at the end of an album that's all about enjoying having a young heart.

Overall, though, I'm enjoying this album. Like Blondfire's previous music, it's easy to listen to but also offers the opportunity to ponder further and to create deeper meaning for as you listen to the songs over and over. Now why don't you head on over to iTunes and buy Young Heart?

Blondfire's Desert Waves

"Oh, waves, there are waves."

But what type of waves, exactly, are there? Many kinds, I say. When Blondfire's song "Waves" first appeared online, I instantly dubbed it a favorite because of its duality (you can read that post here). Waves can either be the struggles that put you down or the forces that lift you up and into new places--and often they're the same thing. Now "Waves" has its own music video, shot in the So. Cal. desert, that continues the theme of duality.

As you know, I'm bound to love the desert setting of this video. Gorgeous desert and pretty, crumbly mountains mean I'm happy. But perhaps you wonder why a song about waves doesn't have an ocean backdrop? Ponder that a moment and look a little closer.

There are waves in this video: the ripples in the sand, the curves of the mountains/hills, and even the flow of fabric in Erica's outfits. These are the harsh things, the ones "picking you up, pushing you down." Desert heat and wind--the elements and Nature. But as she wanders about, Erica also finds signs of water. An anchor, a starfish, and even the nature of the desert suggest that there once was water here--and that perhaps it might come again. She is searching for the waves, knowing their power. She is wandering away from the waves, knowing their power.

As William Blake seemed to say, only by recognizing duality can you make progress.

"We've Been Searching Our Whole Lives"

Guess who I got to see last night--Blondfire (aka. "my indie band of choice" for a few years).

It was so strange: I only found out they were playing here at about 3:30 yesterday (the show was at eight) and they were playing ridiculously close to where I live (and I mean ridiculously). There were three bands playing, and Blondfire was right in the middle slot.

Although I knew that the brother-sister duo had been playing live with one or two other people, I was surprised not to see Bruce--he wasn't there and I just didn't see/recognize him, right? No, I think not. It would have completed it better to have both him and Erica, but I've been waiting long enough for Blondfire to come to Arizona that I'm not complaining.

They opened with "Walking With Giants" and went on to play the other three songs from their new EP and a few from the upcoming album, Young Hearts, including the title track and a song titled "Kites." Erica's microphone could have been a little louder in comparison with the other sounds (it was loud--my eardrums took a while to get back to normal after leaving the venue), but I was still beyond thrilled. Blondfire also only played for half hour--if they had had more time, I would have loved to hear some of their older songs. But once again, it was wonderful to hear this music live after waiting so long.

After they played, I got Erica to sign my copy of their first full length album, My Someday. This album came out four and a half, almost five years ago, so I think it was a testament to my love of Blondfire that I even own the physical CD.

Oh, yes, and the quote in this post's title is from "Hide and Seek," which is a song I've really been enjoying.

Blondfire's "Waves" Flows Across My Heart

I've been so proud of my indie band of choice, Blondfire, lately. Their two new singles, "Where the Kids Are" and "Walking With Giants," have been getting a good amount of attention. And yesterday came the big announcement that the brother/sister duo have signed with Warner Brothers Records for their next album, which will be titled Young Hearts--you can read more at Rolling Stone. Also at that link, you can listen to the latest single (which, unfortunately, isn't available to buy yet), "Waves."

"Waves" fits in perfectly with the other two new songs. It's very sleek, but still melodic; light and flowy, yet still hinting at depths--which for me means that I can listen casually or also apply further meaning. Erica's vocals are lovely as ever. The song reminds me a bit of "Into the Sea" (one of my favorites of theirs) and "My Someday," the title song of their full length album. But why must I wait until 2013 to get the full Young Hearts album? (I'm not complaining bitterly--I'll wait, but I'll also be quick to hit that pre-order button.)

What was surprising was to hear that Bruce and Erica had signed with a label: I know they had some bad experience with a label in their early days, hence the indieness of Blondfire. Going into a major label can mess with the sound of some bands, but I'm trusting their judgement here: since they had a bad experience before, I think they would make sure the process wasn't going to repeat before signing on again somewhere. And "Waves" is going to be part of the new Warner Brothers album, and it doesn't sound "tampered."

The thing I'm hoping will come out of all this is a tour that brings Blondfire to Arizona. In the meantime, go look them up on iTunes: besides My Someday and the two new singles, you can also get their iTunes Live Session EP, their Holiday EP, and their Don't Whisper Lies EP (which is under their previous name, Astaire).