Search - His Name Is Alive :: Always Stay Sweet

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Jonathan J. Casey | the twin cities | 05/12/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"His Name Is Alive is a great, great thing, and even though I embarrassed myself once by talking to Warn Defever after a show and NOT RECOGNIZING HIM ("what's your affiliation with the band?" I asked) I will always love this group and the music they create. I came across HNIA by accident, searching through some used CD bins and only noticing HNIA because they were on 4AD. It took me a long time to get used to their sound, and this compilation catches some of those strange moments from their early years - when Karin and company sang in a near-monotone and the music changed abruptly between ambient instrumentals and fuzzed-out guitar squeals. I have to say that as much as I've come to be obsessed with Defever's music, this is not the best introduction to his work. "Mouth by Mouth" is probably the most accessible HNIA album, and I'd keep going forward from there: to the dangerously eclectic "Stars on ESP" and the funk/rock influenced "Ft. Lake." That said, just about everything they've put out is worth owning, including the early albums "Livonia" and "Home is in Your Head," which are largely represented on "Always Stay Sweet." I don't think that the best tracks from those records can be found here, however, except for "Chances Are We Are Mad" and "Sitting Still Moving Still Staring Out (Sitting)." The latter was used in "Jerry Maguire" - apparently Cameron Crowe had asked for a new HNIA song but only received an unmarked cassette of some noise...now that's just a rumor, but it is a believable one. "Underwater" is worth having even if you've got the rest of this stuff. "In Every Ford" and "Last One" are standouts from later albums. I really think that the single albums are better than the compilation, and I'm speaking from years of listening to this stuff, which makes me highly opinionated (for better or worse). Please investigate this band. It may not appeal to you, but if it does you will be well rewarded. Much strangeness and beauty to be found here. Check out timestereo.com for more information.If you like His Name Is Alive you may want to investigate Velour 100, Red House Painters, Ida, Liquorice, This Mortal Coil, February, Reba Fritz, and Smattering...just to name a few."

A good introduction to a band impossible to categorize

Shawn St John | Houston, TX | 07/31/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"His Name is Alive is one of the greatest bands you never heard of. Defever is a fearless genius, completely free of conventions, without adherence to a particular style or notion of what is "correct". He made a name for himself as a producer by figuring it all out himself on home recording equipment. He went against all the notions of what is correct production, mixing instruments at "wrong" levels and panning and recording/processing things in strange ways, employing folk, avant garde, goth, indie, funk, pop, psych, garage band and dub styles and production techniques, often within a single song. His approach was at once loose and tight, being unafraid to inlcude chance and mistakes as integral elements in his highly detailed productions. His huge influence on the current trend in indie rock production away from live band guitar-bass-drums puritanism towards eclectic multi instrumental tape experiments and bedroom pro tools cutups is largely unrecognized. The band's early work was unfairly grouped by critics with goth bands and other 4AD artists of the day, but they quickly showed that they were forging new directions in music. Mixing pure emotional passion with extremely advanced intellectual and sonic exploration, HNIA releases defy categorization. This album offers a nice introduction to the band. It is perfectly sequenced, and the tracks are well-chosen (although I might have chosen some different representatives from "Stars on ESP"). The compilation samples from their first eight years of releases(the last of which happens to mark the end of an era for the band, which subsequently moved into a sound inspired by Detroit soul and dance music). It is certainly no substitute for buying each album it contains tracks from, but if I had to take only one HNIA CD with me on a trip, this would be it."

The few, the proud, the dirt eaters

jgaze | New York, NY | 02/05/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't fault the above critic for his review, I just feel sorry for him. HNIA is one of the reasons life is worth exploring. What comes out of their music is beyond the normal. I feel lucky to know of it, and I feel thankful to have been considered worthy of receiving it. The only word that sums up HNIA that I can think of is perfect. And thank you Warn for evolving. I've been right there with you. Of course, you already knew that. This album is a great introduction to that evolution. The most amazing thing about HNIA is the fact that I love, and I mean love, every single song that they have ever created. That's no small feat."