The High Strung - HannaH (2021)

The High Strung’s biography is a winding one, with some serious highlights, and an endless flow of fabulous optimism and a focus on momentum. Having a band philosophy is potentially perilous footing (rock n roll is all about spirit after all), but when the motto is “Moxie, Bravo” it can prove to be a helluva good time. The High Strung are a helluva good time.

Singer/songwriter Josh Malerman is the New York Times best selling author of the book Bird Box, which was turned into the Netflix sensation starring Sandra Bullock. But it’s in the afterword of the book’s sequel, Malorie, that Malerman discusses at length the idea of being “a Prolific.” All the members of the High Strung are long used to creating “for no reason,” i.e., songs, shows, and albums for the sake of doing them. But no album of theirs exemplifies this better than HannaH, recorded in 2002, lost to the flow of time, studio albums, constant touring, and, in Malerman’s case, a life of books. Officially mixed and mastered in 2021, the album was recorded 19 years ago, as the band suddenly found themselves with two weeks off before their first proper studio sessions and so decided to record another album on their own as they waited.