A review of Fire and Stone, by The Gray Havens.

It’s well over two years since I reviewed The Gray Havens‘ debut EP, Where Eyes Don’t Go, after discovering them online. The popularity of that record led to an abundance of gigs across America for this husband and wife duo, Dave & Licia Radford, as well as a successful Kickstarter campaign which helped them put together the new album. Now here we are with the arrival of their first-full length piece, Fire and Stone, and it’s a corker.

It’s a breezy acoustic folk sound; quirky, sincere, and yet often playful too, taken to pleasantly surprising the listener with an inventive change of meter or key. From the merry opening bursts of ‘Inheritance’, to the curious resurrection musings of ‘Stone’, it’s beautiful song-craftsmanship. And just when you think a song is merely a pleasing background soundtrack for your daily grind, a lyric will suddenly jump out and pull your heart back in.

Take ‘Sirens’ for example, a powerful account of the allure of temptation:

No trace could I find,
Of any joy the sirens promised.
They had found a way with a lie,
To turn what’s good and should be wanted,
Into what is highest above all desires and loves.

And then comes the passionate refrain, with meaning that’s so tangible it echoes somewhere deep down: “Hold on, hold on, my heart, you’ve tasted joy that’s more than this.”

Similarly, ‘Stole My Fame’ is a clever ode to grace, unpacking the ‘devastating’ impact that grace can have on someone’s ego, managing to get under your skin without you quite noticing the needle:

You stole my fame,
You would not stop until you crucified my name

Named after the final chapter of the final volume of the The Lord of the Rings, it’s no surprise to hear that Dave & Licia are Tolkien fans. It’s evident throughout that they really care about their lyrics and want to sit you down and tell you a story, taking you on adventure as you listen. In fact, it’s almost like the essence of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis has been distilled and re-imagined as folksy pop, or “narrative-folk-pop” as they choose to self-identify (which pretty much fits the bill). As Dave puts it:

“Good, beautiful stories plunge the reader into a fictional world in such a way that when they come out again, they perceive the real world more clearly and with more joy than before. In much the same way, song lyrics—when married to the right melody—can penetrate the heart. Story plays such a huge part in our songs because powerful narratives have been so transforming for us personally.”

This is what TGH do really well – in fact, once or twice my simple mind was playing catch-up to try and work out if I’d definitely ‘got’ the meaning of a particular lyric – but nevertheless it’s powerful stuff. The final track, ‘Far, Far Kingdom’ is an absolute beauty and has become one of my wife Zoe’s fave songs.

They’ve described the album as articulating the “fight for real joy,” and that’s apt because I finished the record with an odd sense of satisfaction from having listened to something musically delightful, but combined with a spiritual eagerness to delight in the God whom their stories describe and allude to.

So if that sounds like your cup of flat white, then get your hands on this record.

Download a free sampler here, or stream it below:

Last week one of my favourite musical discoveries from the web, The Gray Havens, released a great new song, ‘The Stone’, reflecting on the message of Easter.

It’s been a while since I wrote about TGH’s delightful first mini-album, Where Eyes Don’t Go. TGH, aka Dave and Licia Radford, have been described as “a narrative-pop-folk-esque duo … known for songs that are ‘fairly simple, but insanely catchy with magnificent melodies.'” I think the cap pretty much fits, and The Stone is no exception.

Picking up on the stone used to seal Jesus’ tomb, the track opens by reflecting on the stunning events following Jesus’ burial:

The stone heard inside,
The first breath of life; 
It rolled as it shook, 
By the ground where they stood

… before going on to rejoice in what Jesus’ death and resurrection has achieved for his people:

We were far, yet,
We were taken from the dark, yes, 
Turned from stone to flesh, new hearts, yes; 
Curse is broken.

If you like it, why not enjoy it by downloading it from TGH’s Bandcamp site (it’s available on iTunes too, but Bandcamp gives more of what you pay to the artist).

The full album, ‘Fire and Stone’, won’t be released until the autumn, but I’m enjoying this taster of what’s to come.

Here’s a cool video capturing their lyrics:

I’m enjoying the album Where Eyes Don’t Go, by The Gray Havens after reading Challies’ interview with one-half of TGH, Dave Radford. For a limited time you can download the short album for free at their bandcamp site here. There’s some beautifully imaginative lyrics playing around with themes like grace, creation and Christ, set to some very catchy piano-led jazz-pop tunes. Reminded me a bit of The Moldy Peaches, with a bit of Jamie Cullum or Buble thrown in. Check them out. Here’s a few lyrics from one of my faves, Train Station:

And each conductor raved,
They shouted buy your tickets,
Save your souls,
But one conductor sang:

He shouted You, come follow me,
I’ll buy your tickets and I’ll pay your fees,
Cuz I know what you cost,
Believe me without this train you will be lost,

So the rich men laughed and they walked away,
But the poor ones felt that they should stay,
So they told all of their friends,
They told even strangers, til there ten thousands,
Of people said come let us see,
This scandalous train that claims to be free,
Just let him speak…