Track Listing

1. We'll Meet Along the Way
2. He Came to Meet Me
3. Not California
4. Funnel Cloud
5. Too Late to Turn Back Now
6. Pills Stopped Working
7. Hotel Fire
8. Great Houses of New York
9. Curtains
10. Old Adam
11. Burnt-Over District
12. Reservoir
13. I'll Dream of You Tonight
14. Almost Home

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30317 in Music
• Released on: 2006-09-05
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.com
It might sound like a backhanded compliment to say Hem makes lite-rock with a country twist. But before you conjure up images of Phil Collins with a cowboy hat, let's clarify by saying the New York band essentially picks up where the Cowboy Junkies left off--crafting intimate southern songs that unfold with quiet dignity over a bed of strings, pedal-steel guitars and restrained piano flourishes. That's more like it. Besides, in Sally Ellyson, the group has a singer whose clear, sweet voice can't help but make even the most overcast song sound oddly beautiful. If only "I'll Dream Of You Tonight" and "Too Late To Turn Back Now" could be the soundtrack to every waiting room people would actually look forward to that next root canal. --Aidin Vaziri

Customer Reviews

Maybe Hem's best yet -- and that's saying something
Hem's last full album of new songs, Eveningland, was hauntingly beautful but suffered from overproduction. It was if all the engery was bottled up and they didn't want to let it out.

Not so here. Funnel Cloud sparkles with both beauty and energy. Even the slower songs like the title track tremble with an energy evocotive of their live performances. Meanwhile, the beautiful melodies keep on coming -- He Came to Meet Me and Reservior may be two of their best songs, ever.

A quietly beautiful, intelligent pop/country album
If you've heard any of their previous releases, you know that Hem doesn't make loud, brash music. This release continues their previous albums' quietly elegant tone. They wisely cut back on the string sections this time around. The songwriters put a lot of thought into each of the songs and Sally Ellyson is the perfect voice for them.

Gorgeous Music
I heard about Hem on NPR, and bought Funnel Cloud soon after. I'd never heard them before. I love this CD and am happy to find a new group to listen to. "The Pills Stopped Working" is my favorite song. The other songs are soft, mellow, beautifully written. The music is rich and complex. I look forward to hearing more of Hem.