Harmonic Dirt

One suspects the fine folks in Syracuse's Harmonic Dirt might prefer it if pundits refrained from putting labels on the group's music. We'll apologize for that sin right up front, but c'mon! It's fun to talk about the tuneful sounds we love. They make the music. We turn it up, and grasp for the right words to describe that music. And a label comes to mind unbidden:

Americana.

Americana is a misused label. It's not country. It's not exactly folk. It's not pop (except in the sense that it's ALL pop music anyway), and it's only rock 'n' roll in a broad sense that encompasses much that RAWK! snobs might disdain. Americana has no fixed address. It's rural and urban and the pleasant valley Sundays in between, a campfire in the shadow of shopping malls, grain silos, and skyscrapers alike, crammed in above crowded subways, sprawled beneath a rocket's red glare in a boundless starry sky, a common thread woven through a tapestry unfurled from sea to shining sea, and even across those seas to distant lands as well. It could be Woody Guthrie, or Tom Petty, or Tracy Chapman. It could be Chuck Berry, or the foreign-born Americana of The Beatles. It could be anything it wants to be. What embodies the American dream more than that?

And Americana could for damned sure be Harmonic Dirt.

If we look for comparisons, try playing Harmonic Dirt's album Anthracite alongside Sweethearts Of The Rodeo by The Byrds and Bradley's Barn by The Beau Brummels, some early R.E.M., Moby Grape, Springsteen's quieter moments, even The Grateful Dead's Workingman's Dead. Harmonic Dirt sounds an awful lot like none of these. Well, maybe The Beau Brummels a little bit, and that is certainly a compliment. But Anthracite still maintains a shared DNA with the mystic, homegrown restlessness and simple, determined nature that birthed all of the above. Songs like "Please" and "The Things That We Carry" ache with the world-weary promise of a still-young country building its best version of itself. "Maybe" is as catchy as an unassuming but irresistible pop song can be. With Anthracite, Harmonic Dirt invites all of you huddled masses yearning to breathe free to lift up your voices and sway along, hypnotized as the music casts its dancing spell your way. Americana. Forgive the label. Enjoy the music. Harmonic Dirt's land is your land.



"Maybe" by Harmonic Dirt was This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio's most-played track in 2018. It's really, really good. Find out more about Harmonic Dirt at https://harmonicdirt.com/ And tell 'em Dana & Carl sent you.

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Our new compilation CD This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4 is now available from Kool Kat Musik! 29 tracks of irresistible rockin' pop, starring Pop Co-Op, Ray Paul, Circe Link & Christian Nesmith, Vegas With Randolph Featuring Lannie Flowers, The Slapbacks, P. Hux, Irene Peña, Michael Oliver & the Sacred Band Featuring Dave Merritt, The Rubinoos, Stepford Knives, The Grip Weeds, Popdudes, Ronnie Dark, The Flashcubes, Chris von Sneidern, The Bottle Kids, 1.4.5., The Smithereens, Paul Collins' Beat, The Hit Squad, The Rulers, The Legal Matters, Maura & the Bright Lights, Lisa Mychols, and Mr. Encrypto & the Cyphers. You gotta have it, so order it here. A digital download version (minus The Smithereens' track) is also available from Futureman Records.