Hannah vs. The Many: “Ghost Stories” is Riddled with Raw Emotion and Never Loses its Grooving Edge

Posted By: Rick JammPosted date: November 04, 2013in: Reviews2 Comments

Hannah vs. The Many consists of Brooklyn based singer/songwriter/anti-heroine Hannah Fairchild and some of the more musically inclined members of her beloved urban family, most notably Josh Fox (lead guitar), Carl Limbacher (bass) and Daniel Muhlenberg (drums).

Hannah originally moved to New York City expecting to find work and meaning in the city’s seedy underground indie musical theater community, which, as it turns out, doesn’t actually exist. After two years of being rejected by every possible elementary school tour, Hannah said “fuck this” and started writing her own material.

The band released their first full length (All Our Heroes Drank Here) in 2011, and will be releasing their follow up EP Ghost Stories shortly. This is one of those Ep’s that comes out every few years, which is so brilliant; you can barely contain your excitement.

Hannah writes some stunning lyrics, and her voice vibrates in its reflection of longing, satisfaction, frustration, and visual meditation. The music has been beautifully constructed as well, providing a wonderful soundscape for Hannah. “Ghost Stories” is riddled with raw emotion and never loses its grooving edge.

“Poor Leander” instantly gets the blood flowing! Hannah’s voice reaches out to grab you, and the music kicks with pure rock-n-roll thump. “All Eyes On Me” continues the journey into Hannah’s random occurrences. I like the brushing rhythms on this song and the way that the pulsing riffs gets caught in my mind.

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“Slow Burn” is a stripped-down piano-driven piece with subtle vocals and acoustic elements. If you feel the need to get away from the world, just go for a night-town drive with this playing. You’ll absolutely love this song, and if you’r emotionally strong enough, go even further and switch over to the heartrendingly beautiful melody and poetic images of “Nicollet”, for me the best song on the Ep!

Hannah’s lyrics have a quality to them that I believe one doesn’t find much anymore with singer/songwriters. Not many albums are as edgy, honest, beautiful, desperate, and hopeful as this one, as Hannah Fairchild turns a discerning eye on her world.

Hannah is a sparkling diamond in a sea of music wannabes the music industry tries to sell to us daily. There are a lot of people who disregard artists after listening to their music only once. You’ll discover more and more layers, new melodic complexities every time you listen to this Ep. On the other hand, there are albums that you don’t like no matter how many times you give them a listen; this is not one of them!

It’s been awhile that I’ve heard a female rocker perform anything so emotionally dynamic and ear-pleasing! Hannah’s emotive vocals coupled with a truly excellent melodic background make for an incredible musical experience! I whole-heartedly recommend “Ghost Stories” to anyone and everyone!