The Lumineers

III

Dualtone

The dulcet tone of Denver’s favorite indie crooners takes a ride on the concept album train with III, a Catskill Mountain inspired three-part family tale full of sentiment and swell. 

The reach of III is larger than that of previous entries with production that allows for larger kicks, churning reverb, and an insistence upon the grandiose. 

Still present are the wistful lyrics and the camaraderie of the vocals, but new is the sense that this is a larger story, one that doesn’t bank on the ambiguity of familiar experience to gain emotional buy-in. These are stories told with a stomping earnestness, much like Tom Petty’s coziest numbers. 

Broken into three parts, the album tells the story of Gloria, Junior, and Jimmy Sparks, three generations of a family grappling with addiction. “Salt And The Sea” is particularly touching in its incredible loneliness and regret, with piano keys that mainline straight to the part of your heart that knows those feelings all too well.

The Lumineers have moved away from sweet and harmless wedding songs towards the lovely pain of poetry about normal people weathering the storm of regular life and it looks good on them. 

Best Track – Jimmy Sparks

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