Seeing the Light Through The Lumineers

          The Lumineers are a folk alternative band that was formed in Denver, Colorado in 2005.  It was not until recetly, however that The Lumineers exploded in popularity, receiving two Grammy nominations and achieving double platinum status on their most popular single  "Ho Hey" in December of 2012.  The band is comprised of Wesley Schultz on guitar, Jeremiah Fraites on drums and Neyla Pakarek.  Fraites describes the bands style as "super simple" stating that the emphasis of the band is not on the complexity of the compositions but instead on the cinematic aspect of the band's performances.

          Most of the songs on The Lumineers' single, self-named album are in the form of short, poetic stories with old-timey small town, country undertones.  This is clearly shown through "Classy Girls", an illustration of an interaction between a young man and a young woman in a bar that is just under three minutes long.  Like the bar in the story created by this song, it almost feels as though this song was written to be listened to after a long day of work, to let loose, and just relax.

          While this album was certainly relaxing and easy to listen to, many of the songs have a hidden meaning behind the simple rhythms.  The song "Submarines" for example hides the possibility of a Japanese submarine invasion behind a joyful, upbeat piano riff.  In this song, a boy runs into town swearing he's seen a Japanese submarine to which the town responds casually unconcerned; the police just laugh, saying he's seen a ghost.  This is an allusion to the empire which preaches that people should be casually unconcerned about anything that could potentially rock the boat.  The final two lines of the song sum up perfectly why no one will listen to the unpopular voice.  "In the end it boils down to credibility; I had none so I will die with the secrets of the sea."  The empire discourages questions just like this small town that refused to even consider whether or not there was a submarine in the water.  

          The setting of the Lumineers' song "Charlie Boy" is the mid 1940's during World War II.  This song tells the story of a time when the government preached patriotism; that if one did not support the war effort, they lacked the traits of a true American.  It is easy to see the position of the family members of Charlie, the hypothetical young man volunteering to go to war, through the lyrics "Kennedy made him believe, we could do much more." Charlie was a victim of the empire telling him that he could be a hero if he went along with America's plan for the world.  But the lyrics go on to show how only pain ensued when the "news was bad on Upland Ave." and "Metuchen mourn our loss."  This song illustrates perfectly how it is so easy to fall under the empire's influence because it's ideals are manufactured to be popular in culture.

          The Lumineers, through their meaningful lyrics, help to bring about the kingdom of God rather than the empire by making us ask questions.  They tell short stories that are trivial at the surface, but incredibly complex once they are listened to the second or third time.  The Lumineers make art through their music because it does not tell anyone to believe any one thing but instead, they are made to encourage questions and alternate interperetations.