We don’t even have a category for the type of post we’re about to do. Not really an “archive” post because it wasn’t sitting in our drafts or anything but more something that’s been out for some time that we’re just now learning about which results in… whatever this is. So if you can come up with a good name for all of that we’ll create a new category. For now, though, thank Other Brother Darryl for this post as we were putting together the review for their new LP (Hey Yeah Hey, get it here) and mentioned their record release show (July 10th! At The Burren! More on that later!) which diverted our attention to that night’s support act, Medford’s hey i’m outside, that led to lots of love of their standalone single “Routine” (Check the video for that one here) and eventually all these words you’re about to read on their 2024 self-titled full-length release. Phew! Still with us? Good, because there’s lots more words on the way…
Speaking of words, we’d like to preface all this with a shout out to Erin McPherson (@flipwizardflex) who supplies the Bandcamp text for hey i’m outside and beat us to some tasty descriptors (“Alt-Country”! “Weird Americana”!) and filled that space with words far superior to anything we’ll type here… but we’re still going to try!
“Frontyard” is such a cool opener that reminds us of the Lo-Fi Indie Alternative explosion of the late ’90’s/early ’00’s that exquisitely began some interesting genre-splicing back in the day (Think Soul Coughing especially regarding hey i’m outside) yet is as accessible as R.E.M. could be with both New Adventures In Hi-Fi and Murmur coming to mind with the sounds concocted by Patrick McPherson (Vocals, Guitars, Drums, Production, Mix), Hannah Fletcher (Bass) and Noah Wisch (Drums, Guitars). “Crash” is filled with swirling acoustic guitar loops and McPherson’s emotive words and “Racecar” is, ahem, a driving ditty that’s accented by all the twang-filled guitar soloin’.
“Instincts” is a little bit of a slow down up to this point, but still filled with powerful performances especially from the percussion department while “Elevator #3” has got it goin’ ON! Look, we’re not comparing it to “Cotton Eye Joe” but we’re not NOT comparing it to that tragic, we mean EXCELLENT, earworm from 1995. But fer reals, “Elevator #3” is a quick little dancey Alt-Country instrumental beaut of a track from start to finish.
“Lived in Maze” settles back into a laid back state with poignant prose and then “Goner” is filled with earnest as this tentpole track smack dab in the middle of this thing kind of brings the room together with the way it expertly intertwines all the genres hey i’m outside has mastered into a kind of timeless Alternative anthem at its’ core. We are suckers for songs about our home state so “Massachusetts” already has that going for it and more so upon diving in and hearing how absolutely wonderful it is with vibrant performances out of Fletcher, Wisch and McPherson.
“Kelly” follows and brings up that Soul Coughing connection we mentioned with the harmonious way that Fletcher’s Bass tones play against type with the steady beats and wall of noise put forth from Wisch and McPherson with “Insects” instantly mesmerizing with the way the guitar melodies go round and round as McPherson’s voice maintains and manifests a kind of zen. And then “Outro” is just that, dropping an instrumental jam to round out the record and reminding listeners that sometimes it’s okay to just sit back, listen and enjoy if that’s all you want from your music.
hey i’m outside is out now and you can find your copy by heading here or to the stream below. For more from hey i’m outside, including all the info on the aforementioned Other Brother Darryl record release show (The Burren! July 10th! Tix here!) or just announced appearance at Levitate Music & Arts Festival in Marshfield (Playing on Saturday, July 18th, at 320PM and you can get tix for that one here) head toward the socials by clicking here.