Great Northern Remind Me Where the Light Is Review Date: January 4th, 2010
Reviewed By: Rating: Not Yet Rated
“Fingers” and “Snakes”

Out of all the amazing female led bands this year, Great Northern is my favorite. It was one of my earliest favorite albums this year, and it has remained that way. I don’t know if its the interesting song structures and elements that are brought in throughout or the dynamics between Rachel Stolte and Solon Bixler’s vocals. It is also like a handful of other albums I’ve enjoyed because they incorporate great vocal harmonies, simple but thick drum rhythms, all filled in with bassy synths and topped off with a nice layer of orchestral strings.

These are driving, focused, and intricate pop songs. They rock too. Thats about it.

There’s some indie flavor to it on songs like “Stop” that feature a kitten mewing over a piano riff that I love. Then there are the head boppers like “Warning”, which aren’t revolutionary but are the kind of songs you can listen to over and over with the right beats, the right harmonies, and perfect dynamics. Again, a lot of times it’s the simplicity that wins me over...not the technicality. My favorites are the epics, “Fingers” and “Snakes”. I also like it when even though the main focus on the songs are Rachel Stotle’s vocals that there are songs like “Driveway”, where Solon Bixler takes over and leads the song over organs, strings, and ends with the culmination of Rachel’s “oooh’s” accompanied by pianos and strings. These songs were crafted with care and precision. It won’t reinvent the wheel, but it hits the nail on the head with modern rock/pop. It has a little bit of everything, but not too much. Just enough to work perfectly and not lose the listener throughout the album.

If you look at my list of favorite albums this year, there are a lot of female led bands that are absolutely wonderful. But none of them get it completely just right and round out their albums perfectly quite like Great Northern have accomplished with Remind Me Where The Light Is.