big takeover
The Americana scene has become old hat for many, but
the Southern-fried music was good for 80 years before,
and still is. On their second LP, this Akron, OH,
quintet attracts when it whispers, with hushed piano,
the lightest guitars (as if petting a sleeping cat),
caressed drums, and an overall mild, somber hue with
Joey Beltram's singing, not many miles from the sonic
terrain of The Band, Red House Painters, or recent
Jeff Tweedy. The sense of wide-open space meeting the
expanse of time that is at the heart of American roots
music pervades, rich and dewy. Ditto the spare folk of
the thoroughly jaded "Rock and Roll Boys and Girls,"
the waltzing piano pop of "She Comes Saturday," and
the "Homeward Bound"-like hoedown hop of "Invitation."
A few up-tempo tappers like "City Lights," with its
groovy breeze, round out the rest in fine style.
amplifier
Akron, Ohio's Goodmorning Valentine has raised the stakes substantially on their sophomore album, Steady Your Hands. The band's debut, 2004's Easter Park, was a stripped back DIY Americana showcase for songwriter Joey Beltram's wistful odes to contemporary heartache and muted joy. With Steady Your Hands, Beltram comes on like an American David Gray, writing tremulous songs of melancholic passion while the band fashions an atmospheric and gauzy soundtrack for them to drift within, like Over the Rhine finding its inner Wilco. From the downcast party angst of "Rock and Roll Boys and Girls" to the gentle insistence of "City Lights" to the after hours Ryan Adams rumination of "The Things You Want But Can Not", Goodmorning Valentine is artful without descending into artiness, quiet without fading into the background, and introspective without wallowing in self-absorption.
--Brian Baker
There are a lot of reasons to love Akron-based band goodmorning valentine and their sophomore effort, Steady Your Hands. More reasons, in fact, than I have space to mention in this review. So, how might you know that some of those reasons apply to you? Take this simple "yes or no" survey below:
1) The words "essential late night listening" are cause for pause and often inspire a record store field trip for me.
2) I wore out my first copy of Belle & Sebastian's If You're Feeling Sinister.
3) Decidedly lo-fi affairs with dreamy pop melodies, yummy atmospheric flourishes and indie-rock roots really turn me on. Literally. (In fact, just reading &035;3 is getting me hot and bothered.)
4) Bands that link Americana and cuddlecore/twee-pop (admittedly, a UK term) are among my favorites.
5) Like Dylan, Tom Waits is a brilliant songwriter, but sometimes his voice really grates on me. I rarely admit this about such genius in public.
If you scored more than two "yes" votes, stop reading now, proceed to your local music retailer and pick this up this nocturnal collection. Tell them I sent you. For the rest of you, read on: goodmorning valentine has grown significantly since its first release, Easter Park. The band's influences are certainly an eclectic mix (see above and add pinches of Elvis Costello, Wilco and Whiskeytown for good measure) and play a critical role informing the band's sound.
That said, it is a wonder this band isn't an international sensation. Singer/guitarist Joey Beltram has a fluttering, passionate voice; his vocal flourishes have the kind of soul that would make Stuart Murdoch green with envy. He sets the mood with the ethereal and downcast "Tiger and the Leper," a chamber-pop entrée with goosebump-inducing orchestration.
Other highlights include the sparse balladry of "Rock and Roll Boys and Girls," the lazy, Luna-like cuts "So Long" and "Can't Say," a bourbon-laced rocker "City Lights," the delightfully driving pop ditty "Girl," and the brassy "Why Do You Bother" – which is filled with delightfully moody time signature changes.
Beltram and the rest of the band – Matt Haas (guitar), Elizabeth Allen (bass/flute/strings), Jake Trombetta (keys), Donny Taylor (drums) – provide a beautiful world of unforgettable melodies and sonic delicacy. This effort could have easily come from the 4AD or Matador label; Steady Your Hands is a well-informed collection of lo-fi pop brilliance and it belongs on a national stage.
From the sounds of things, the folks in "gmv" know that already. And it will happen eventually, so don't be late. Catch up with goodmorning valentine before the rest of the country does.
PSYCHO DAISIES
You would have to be living in a cave to not automatically assume that Goodmorning Valentine are indie with a capital "I." The clever name, the gorgeous, fabric-inspired packaging of their latest album, Steady Your Hands, and all of those glowing flutes, mallets, and strings which drift in and out of their songs make it too easy for this record to be pegged as a Midwestern entrance into the Stuart Murdoch school of music. And yet, these Ohioans (it is Ohioans, is it not?) should not be dismissed for their articulate and varied sounds. With tracks such as "City Lights" - which sounds as though Goodmorning Valentine has been flipping between their Whiskeytown and their Belle & Sebastian - Steady Your Hands is a pleasant new indie release.
Of course, if my description hasn't made it obvious, Goodmorning Valentine aren't exactly breaking any boundaries...but that doesn't mean their CD isn't enjoyable. Steady Your Hands is a rainy Sunday morning record: even the more uptempo songs drift lazily out of the speakers and make the listener want to cup their hands and look out a wide open window. Track number four, "So Long...", is especially inducive to a lazy, hazy mood where everything can be put off for another day, while "Tiger and the Leper" could make even the most upbeat person want to pull their blue-green duvet back over their head and just listen to the rhythm of Joey Beltram's melodic voice, thinking silent covered thoughts.
For the most part, Steady Your Hands feels like a finished, eclectic painting. All of the songs compliment one another to form a pleasing whole; the only dash of unsettling paint is "Rock and Roll Boys and Girls." That song's instrumentation falls directly into Goodmorning Valentine's delicious ebb and flow, yet with their cynicism and paranoia, the lyrics are dissimilar to everything else on the album: "rock and roll boys and girls/are sharpening their teeth with every smile." It's the sparsest track on the album, yet because it strays into such a little-explored ominous grey area, it also becomes the most memorable.
In fact, "Rock and Roll Boys and Girls" leads this reviewer to wonder what is lurking beneath the lovelorn exterior of Goodmorning Valentine, and that sense of mystery and depth is what really sets them apart. Sure, there is that outward indie with an "I," there are the well-crafted lyrics - but it is the thoughtfulness of Steady Your Hands which will bring a casual listener back time and time again.
(megan giddings)
Americana UK
Good Morning Valentine do a nice line in catchy, but thoughtful pop tunes, drawing on a plethora of influences from Motown, to 60s Summer of Love , and even the 80s " new romantics". "Last Year" and " City Lights " both epitomise this approach, and could make compelling hit single material. The band, however, have other strings to their bow. They employ a moody, atmospheric style at times, bringing to mind the Blue Nile, most notably on the smouldering " So Long", there is more than a hint of Jackson Browne in the swooping melody lines of " Can't Say ", with its gorgeous 3/4 shuffle beat and haunting reverb laden guitar, and the token, almost mandatory, country input gets an airing on the big, boomy " Invitation". The current trend among many pop bands to give minimal information on who writes, sings,or plays what, is an irritation ( maybe, along with the absence of any photos, it is considered to add to the " mysteriousness" of the band? ) , but the uncredited lead vocalist wears a myriad of influences on his sleeve, with the mannered stylings of Scott Walker, and the clipped phrasing
of Tom Rush or the late David Ackles, amongst others, surfacing regularly. There is meticulous attention to detail in the arrangements of the songs ,with an almost orchestral feel employed at times. Nowhere is this more evident than on the closing track "Why do you Bother? ", which boasts several mood and tempo changes, and a big brassy feel which bears all the hallmarks of the final, big production number in a Broadway musical. At times it borders on the too ambitious with perhaps a hint of over arrangement, but for the most part, it stays just on the right side of tasteful.
All in all, an extremely stimulaing and varied collection of intelligent pop tunes from a band clearly riding on a creative high.
Date review added: Monday, January 30, 2006
Reviewer: John Hinshelwood
Reviewers Rating: 7 out of10
Related web link: www.goodmorningvalentine.com
Baby Sue
Goodmorning Valentine - Steady Your Hands (CD, Collectible Escalators, Soft pop/Americana)
Nice, smooth, pensive Americana-based soft pop. Centered around the songwriting skills of Joey Beltram, this band has a sound that is slick, direct, and effective. Beltram's tunes recall some of the more subdued songs recorded by Jay Farrer. Steady Your Hands is slow and reflective...incorporating a wide variety of instruments and styles. The lyrics and melodies are exceptional throughout all twelve tracks. Beltram's deep, mournful voice is perfect for the style of songs he composes. Top picks: "Tiger and the Leper," "So Long...", "Invitation," "Why Do You Bother." (Rating: 5+)
http://www.95bfm.co.nz/default,2029,hannah_rebecca.sm (new zealand)
http://www.kdhx.org/programs/feellike.htm (st. louis)
http://indie-eye.blogosfere.it/2006/01/goodmorning_val_1.html (italy)
Songs:Illinois
Has anything great ever come out of Akron? I'm no historian (actually I guess I am with BA in History from Drew University) but I'm guessing no. The band Goodmorning Valentine is trying to change that with their upcoming disc Steady Your Hands (Collectible Escalators, Feb 28). The band resides in mid-tempo americanaland influenced rock. They've shared stages with perennial Songs:Illinois favorites The Damnwells, The Black Keys and Magnolia Electric Company. In fact one of the standout tracks is "Rock And Roll Boys and Girls" which reminds me of The Damnwell's song ... "Bad Thing".
"Invitation" is as twangy as the record gets invoking a Gram Parson-ish sound. Steady Your Hands joins records by the likes of Riviera and One Star Hotel at the top of the heap of bands trying to make a dent in Wilco's nearly industructable armor. While the release date is still officially months away you can get this one now here.
Joey Beltram and members of Goodmorning Valentine
9 p.m. every other Thursday, beginning January 12 at the Northside, 111 N. Main St., Akron, 330-434-7625. No cover.
By D.X. Ferris
Published: Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Singer Joey Beltram solidified his reputation as one of Northeast Ohio's better songwriters on Goodmorning Valentine's sophomore album, Steady Your Hands. Drifting away from Jackson Browne-style lovelorn musing, the Valentines' latest is lazy-days Americana, like the delicate pop put forth by the Dreadful Yawns and Belle and Sebastian. And a shake-your-thing indie-rock beat all but shatters the lull-you-to-sleep xylophones that usher in "Last Year." So if you haven't already, put them on your bands to watch for this year.
Cleveland Free Times
November 23, 2005
Jeff Niesel
Goodmorning Valentine singer Joey Beltram sounds like a girl. That's really a compliment, since the guy's fluttering voice is every bit as powerful an instrument as that of, say, Natalie Merchant, whom he evokes most clearly on "Last Year," the third track on this Akron band's terrific second album. Equally informed by Motown, indie pop and alt-country, Goodmorning Valentine is too spirited to be slowcore and too offbeat to be considered traditional singer-songwriter fare. The uptempo tracks here are the strongest, as Beltram sings in a deeper register for "Rock and Roll Boys and Girls," a tune that sounds like a Ryan Adams ballad (again, a compliment), and "City Lights," which takes classic rock structures and spruces them up with swirling synthesizers. The keyboard-driven "Girl," which nearly passes as Van Morrison, and even the horn arrangement in "Why Do You Bother," both feel natural. Admittedly, the flute solo and chirping birds in "She Comes Saturday" are a bit much, but that's the only time these guys err.
Akron band does well with sophomore effort
By Dan Kadar
Beacon Journal staff writer
STEADY YOUR HANDS
Goodmorning Valentine
Collectible Escalators
Young bands face a bevy of insurmountable hurdles in the recording process.
Some face financial holdups. Others experience premature group breakups. Goodmorning Valentine suffered from the desire for perfection.
For 14 months, the band recorded, ripped apart and recorded again its sophomore effort, Steady Your Hands.
The result is a CD by a local group that sounds like it should be bursting into the national consciousness.
The Akron-based band has played memorable sets at the Lime Spider in the past two years, and the experience shows on Steady Your Hands. Their sound has grown by leaps and bounds since its first release, Easter Park.
Musically, most of the songs on Steady Your Hands could fit on Belle and Sebastian's If You're Feeling Sinister. But unlike Belle and Sebastian, Goodmorning Valentine's music has a rich sonic depth thanks to singer Joey Beltram's fluttering but passionate voice. Beltram's ethereal coo carries the 14-track album through emotional highs and lows. At times, the oft-bearded singer sounds like his heart was just broken; at others, his voice is filled with energy.
The arrangements range from spare to orchestral. On several songs, bassist Elizabeth Allen plays string instruments and sings backup. Both nicely complement Beltram's voice. Guitarist Matt Haas' compassionate hooks steal the album's faster tracks such as Last Year, City Lights and the alt-country Invitation.
Some songs are a bit overproduced. She Comes Saturday is led by a pattering typewriter before it's broken up by a chirping bird, both unnecessary. That is the only holdup on an album that excels at each turn.
But while the band sounds good recorded, its live show is even better. Goodmorning Valentine has always been a group of musically smart overachievers. When the band settles down -- steadies its hands, if you will -- it achieves fully.
Steady Your Hands is available at Square Records on West Market Street in Akron or at www.collectibleescalators.com.
Wake-up call: Akron/Kent-based rock act Goodmorning Valentine has emerged from the recording studio with its sophomore album, "Steady Your Hands." A follow-up to its debut, "Easter Park," the new disc, which appears on Northeast Ohio label Collectible Escalators, further explores singer-songwriter Joey Beltram's heart-shaped anthems within a modern-rock motif. The five-piece's CD release party starts at 9:30 p.m. Saturday at the Lime Spider, 207 S. Main St., Akron. $5. Call 330-762-2350. Six Parts Seven is also on the bill. (Buchtilite)
Rave: If you weren't at the Lime Spider Saturday night, you missed out on a heck of a show. The event was in celebration of the second release by Akron/Kent rockers Goodmorning Valentine, Steady Your Hands. The album is great, the band should be incredibly proud of itself for persevering and putting out an amazing sophomore album. Do yourself a favor and check it out, the band has some samples on it's Web site. Show openers Dave Rich and Six Parts Seven also did an incredible job. Any of the three are worth seeing by themselves. (Plain Dealer)
punk planet
Goodmorning Valentine -Steady Your Hands CD
Erroneously described as having a Motown sound twice
within their press material, Goodmorning Valentine
might possess more spunk than Ryan Adams but that
certainly doesn't make them akin to the Shirelles. Not
unlike My Morning Jacket's latest, Steady Your Hands
brims with detached sincerity and grand arrangements.
It's nothing we haven't heard before but I've always
been a sucker for a sad-sack lothario who can sound
both sweet and condescending when calling his
anonymous lost love "honey." So if you're that's your
sort of thing (and one can't imagine how it couldn't
be), it's here in spades. (MS)