Woodstock, the famed musical festival dedicated to my homegirl Peace and my little thing on the side named Love, is turning 41 years-old this year, and holey moley, pumpkin pie, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros sure wish they could have been there.
The 11-piece ensemble, headed by Alex Ebert under the “Edward Sharpe” moniker, have revisited the past. Every track from their debut “Up from Below,” shares a distinctive, carefree spirit and a longing for a time they wish they could have had, but had to experience with a present-day ethos of harmony and happiness.
And let me tell you, their lessons in hippy 2.0 ethics are totally convincing to the point where you really want to chug a gallon of their Kool-Aid.
According to the always trusty Internet, “Sharpe” and his band of nouveau-hippies tour the country in a converted greyhound bus and most likely high five people and sing to strangers whenever they park at a rest stop. I don’t have a credible source to confirm those juicy details, but in my mind, this is what happens when Sharpe and his crew comes to town.
Getting back on track, “Up from Below” sounds like all the cool people from your fourth grade choir class with Ms. Martin reunited last year at the park behind your mom’s house and cut an album that is just really catchy and pretty great.
Each song on this album begs you to sing it aloud with your friends around a bonfire or at least in the car with all of the windows rolled down. You should even snap your fingers to it and clap your hands (but don’t say, “Yeah!”) whenever you play “Up from Below.”
Sometimes I find myself just humming and clapping aloud when I’m walking downtown because “Janglin,” the second song off of the album, popped into my head and it just needs to be hummed and clapped out of my mind.
“Home,” the single off of the record, is a tune about traveling the world with your sweet baboo and just feeling at home no matter how far away the two of you are from your places of origin.
“Home is whenever I am with you,” they sing, while they laugh and whistle and honk on their trumpets. Aw shucks, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, you’re just so adorable I can’t stand it. I lied. I love it.
As any student who goes here can attest to, Edinboro can be a bummer sometimes, but luckily for you, the weather is getting more gorgeous by the minute and if you are looking for something to play at your next hootenanny, pass on the Dave Matthews and give “Up from Below” a listen. Peace and Love will thank you for it.
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