I can’t wait. Under normal circumstances, I would delay this post until closer to September 22nd when Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros are playing at the El Rey. But I can’t wait, because that would be a disservice to the urgency of this band’s rise.
There is no Edward Sharpe. There is only Alex Ebert. Edward Sharpe is the boyhood “Mr. Hyde” to Alex Ebert’s “Dr. Jekyll.” Ebert you might recognize from Ima Robot, but might be otherwise unrecognizable, being that he’s gone sober and embraced an optimistic hippie/folk attitude that literally SHINES in the music he’s making now.
And what about “The Magnetic Zeros” portion of the group? A couple of friends and several friend’s friends gather at a home in Laurel Canyon and record songs on 24 tracks and produce an LP, “Up From Below,” that seems to be on the lips of everyone who gives a shit about indie music. Perhaps the strangest factoid about the band is that seed money came from Heath Ledger, who had designs on starting recording collectives all under an umbrella called “The Masses.”
It’s Arcade Fire, Afternoons, Johnny Cash, Dylan and Jesus all mixed together in a cauldron and poured onto stage to create a live show visually reminiscent of “Hair” Revue, but that sounds like a polyphonic dream.
I thought it was corny at first, but the music does a fantastic job of digging into your heart. I usually love to put on my “depression” playlists and mope and dwell in the dark places of my psyche, but if there was more music like this, I’d have way more “manic” playlists at the ready.
Try NOT to listen to “Home” twice right now. Then your homework involves looking up YouTube videos (or something similar from your preferred online media outlets) to get a glimpse of the live energy, and decide if you want to meet up with Too Much Happy at the El Rey on Sept 22nd.
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – “40 Day Dream”
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – “Home”
