This past June, Seattle’s Hey Marseilles reissued their excellent 2008 debut LP, To Travels and Trunks, and now that the Northwest’s little secret is out, it won’t be long before this bands soaring and grand pop sounds have plied their charms on folks far and wide! Mixing a multi-instrumental approach that includes off beat instruments like, accordion, cello, viola, melodica, and horns with Matt Bishop’s strong lyrical content and bright plain delivery has created an album full of cohesive songs about the longings and expectancy of travel.
The core of this band formed in 2006 at the University of Washington, when lead vocalist Matt Bishop met guitarist Nick Ward and his roommate Philip Kobernik. The three began jamming on Lake Union at Gasworks park in Seattle, and eventually started writing songs together. Inspired by the haunted sounds coming out of Kobernick’s used accordion, the band began developing these old world melodies that seemed to conjure a sort of Eastern European gypsy vibe or the celebration and dance music of Klezmer. With a few tunes being bandied around, it wasn’t long before the bands membership would grow to include wider circles of friends, and its membership now includes the classically trained brothers Samuel and Jacob Anderson on cello and viola, Patrick Brannon on trumpet and bass, and Colin Richey on drums. While the tunes on To Travels and Trunks owe their excellent craft to a fine core of musicians, it is Matt Bishop’s lyrics and delivery that underpin and make these songs shine. Very much rooted in an American folk tradition and poetically inspired, Bishop’s lyrical references fill the page with images of movement and travel, while helping to set the more antique musings of the band into an interesting and modern relief. On a song like “Calabasas”, these seemingly disparate elements come together in fine proportions. Striking out for open road with just a guitar and Bishop’s plangent voice, it’s not long before bittersweet good-byes and the expectancy arrival are augmented in striking fashion by the interplay between strings, guitar and drums.
A lot of craft and talent has been put into To Travels and Trunks, so we really recommend grabbing the reissue. Completely remixed, and also put on 180 gram vinyl, the album and cd include some great art work goodies, as well as an awesome tune previously not included, “Gasworks”. The band also has some big Seattle shows coming up playing at The Moore Theatre at the end of July and Bumbershoot in late August, and they will also be leaving for a small tour of the East coast at the beginning of August! So check it.
