Blue Herons - Blue Herons

Blue Herons

Blue Herons
self-released; 2014

4.1 out of 5 - TOP ALBUM

By J Simpson

Gainesville, Florida's transport you from a swaying hammock on the beach to the bottom of the ocean on Blue Herons’ self-titled full-length Blue Herons. 

Blue Herons is the solo project of multi-instrumentalist Eric Rubin, who has spent years refining and cultivating his sound under a variety of pseudonyms, before finally settling upon music that he felt stands up next to his peers and influences. I haven't heard any of his other stuff, but Blue Herons was worth the wait. 



Blue Herons is an orchestral psych pop wonderland, chock full of flutes, Farfisas and glockenspiels for Rubin's reverbed-out vocals to drift like a morning mist over a lagoon. Rubin's music hearkens back to a period of a few years ago when it seemed that every indie artist was being compared to sitting on the beach - from the burned out stoner surfer slack of Wavves to the tropical drink sipping Sun Araw and Ducktails.

Maybe it's the fact that Rubin actually lives on the Gulf Coast, but his music is more reflective of the actual experience - watching the sun set behind palm trees - than merely trying to sound like his influences. 

From the first lashes of Blue Herons, I had the same sensation as the first time hearing Grizzly Bear, Iron And Wine, or My Morning Jacket. The music is gentle, dreamy, yet it placed me on the edge of my sofa, sitting bolt upright, like I'd just licked a transformer. THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT THIS MUSIC! 



The orchestral elements alert us straight out of the gat, that time and care have been taken in this album's inception. Music like this cannot be created overnight. It's a hint, a shadow, a glimmer and a glimpse that makes you peak beneath the cover, makes you want to know more. And the fact that it's dreamy and impressionistic implies he is interested more in the poetry and magick of music than in some cult of personality.

He is not shouting LOOK AT ME, which, in turn, makes me want to say LOOK AT HIM! LOOK AT HIM! 

Some may take issue with the lack of clarity in the vocals, which drift about in a miasmic world of their own. A friend of mine once said that clear, understandable vocals were what it takes to get an artist on the radio, to be a bonafide hit, but I'd like to think, after decades of drawing our own conclusions, that we would not be deterred so easily.

Indistinct vocals are a trademark of any form of shoegaze or psychedelic music. You'd think people would be used to it by now. 

Blue Herons is available as a free download, so there is absolutely no excuse not to hear this for yourself, especially if you like music that is dreamy, relaxed, but still exciting and energizing. This is the best debut I've heard in a hot minute, standing up next to Grizzly Bear's debut, Horn Of Plenty, which was one of my favorite indie records of the last decade. 

If the world is fair, Eric Rubin will be as big as Edward Droste, in ten years time. Get on board now, and lend your support when it matters!

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