House of Hamill - March Through Storms (2018)

House of Hamill is a folk project with a unique spin on their music. Their sound blurs the lines between modern and timeless production aesthetics, with a special focus on great melodies and forward-thinking ideas. Their most recent release, “March Through Storms” is a diverse and eclectic album that highlights the innate versatility and accomplished musicianship of the band. The group also set out to promote the album with a cool music video for single “Pound a Week Rise.”

This track is a really great introduction to the band’s sound and vision. The first thing you might notice is certainly the group’s unmistakable approach to production aesthetics. The sound is crisp, clear and highly refined, yet maintaining that organic sense of warmth you’d always associate with folk-inspired music. In addition to that, the lyrics are engaging and direct, echoing the great storytelling tradition of the best folk songwriters. In this genre, singing lyrics is a bit like narrating, and the words add to the cinematic power of this release.

One of the most interesting aspects about the band’s work on this album is certainly the fact that this music is unapologetically catchy. People always seem to have a sort of stigma when it comes to this kind of music: if it is perceived as too catchy or uplifting, there is always an assumption that a piece of music lacks of integrity. However, I couldn’t disagree more, because great music is all about celebration, particularly when it comes to folk-inspired sounds.