Roger Harvey – Twelve Houses

Roger Harvey’s career could be characterized as a slow climb.  His output has been split between a couple of high profile projects that seem to lose steam right as they hit their stride.  On the one hand Dandelion Snow served as the expressive solo project that first garnered deserving vocal comparisons to Conor Oberst’s quavering emotionalism.  But after The Grand Scheme Of Things wowed critics, Harvey packed up shop and began work on a punk rock project with Anti-Flag’s Chris #2 in White Wives.  Likewise, upon making a splash with their debut full length, Happeners, the group entered a similar period of relative inactivity.  

While we await White Wives’ next step, Harvey has finally mustered the confidence to present himself with nothing more than his given and surname for his full length solo debut, Twelve Houses.  This time around, Roger Harvey feels more like the mature, spiritual successor to his Dandelion Snow moniker.  As one might expect, with greater maturity comes a much more nuanced musicianship.  In Harvey’s case, that’s quite the compliment.

Twelve Houses thrives on subtleties and album flow.  Early tracks play with a hint of fuzz, like the album is shifting into focus with increasingly refined clarity.  Opener “One Night As An Astronaut” floats in on a hazy dream-like array of piano notes, further drawing upon Harvey’s typical full band ensemble with rich tip-tapping percussion, strategic electronic embellishments and the distant drawl of country acoustics.  But he doesn’t take long before getting noticeably bolder in followup, “City Deer.”  Piping up with little more than his confident fragility, Harvey makes good on his reputation as a captivating frontman.  Not shortly thereafter the momentum bleeds over into neighbouring track, “Three Wolf Moon.”  Boosted by a chorus of horns, the emerging theme of mourning the loss of adolescence reveals itself in the revelation, “is this what I’ve been looking for, because the dream looks different in my head.”  As with many frontmen gone soloist on the road to thirty, Roger Harvey’s chief exposition revolves around waking up to a reality misaligned with the one previously envisioned.  

Overall, Twelve Houses is not quite as striking at any given moment when compared with The Grand Scheme Of Things, but remains immensely engrossing, particularly with repeat listens.  Roger Harvey showcases his more subtle talents as an artist, mixing melody with nuance and revealing a very mature musicianship.  With Twelve Houses, Roger Harvey finally introduces himself as a brand and does a satisfyingly convincing job in the process.