Well, with the end of RAP WEEK, we now return to our regularly scheduled programming. Because I've convinced myself that the temperature has to begin rising rapidly and consistently soon, I'm bringing you a somewhat summery song.
Max Stern is currently the singer and lead guitarist of Signals Midwest, a brilliant emo/post-hardcore/post-emo/post-punk/post-other-things band from the beautiful city of Cleveland, Ohio which is somehow still not incredibly famous. He also fronts/is the only consistent member of a group called Meridian, and he releases solo music from time to time as well.
There is no doubt in my mind that Stern is a musical genius. He is easily one of the most prolific songwriters in recent memory, he has always been an excellent guitar player, and his voice has steadily improved over the years. It seems like he is always releasing something. I first discovered him around 2007 through his high school ska band The Skatastrophes, whose music is much better and more serious than their name. I loved that band so much, partially due to my obsession with ska/punk at the time, but also because it sounded like the songs were sung from my perspective. I was also a high school kid in the Cleveland area, alternately loving and hating where I was from and getting very ready to grow up. Unfortunately, the group broke up after releasing only one album.
Stern quickly formed Signals Midwest, toward whom I was somewhat ambivalent at first. They started out as a progressive pop/punk band, which was a huge departure from the sound of The Skatastrophes and was also a style with which I was largely unfamiliar. Luckily, the songs were good, so I kept listening. After releasing their third and best album thus far, last year's Light On the Lake, I can say I'm thoroughly convinced. In addition to Signals, Stern has released one official solo EP, another collection of mostly-completed solo demos, a full-length album with Meridian, and a 30-song album as Meridian titled The Harvest Month, for which Stern wrote one song a day for the entire month of September 2013.
"Summer Homes" comes off a surprise four-song EP Stern released just two days ago called Summering. The EP precedes a solo tour Stern is about to begin in Australia with the supremely talented Wil Wagner of The Smith Street Band. This set of songs sounds absolutely nothing like what I expected. The idea of a "solo EP" often leads to the assumption that it will be a singer and his acoustic guitar, nothing more. Those can often be great, but are also frequently underwhelming and too minimalistic.
Summering is none of those things. The songs are complex, drawn-out, beautiful compositions upon which Stern makes the most out of just his voice, an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar, and a bass. The songs sound surprisingly full and are some of his best work to date, which is a considerable achievement. All four songs are very good, especially the opener ("Only Good") and "Summer Homes," the closing track. And even better, he released the whole thing free! No YouTube link for this one, but check out "Summer Homes" and then help yourself to the rest of the EP. I promise you it'll be well worth the hard drive space.
Click to listen!
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