All of Our Names
Encyclopedia
All of Our Names is an album by Canadian
singer-songwriter
Sarah Harmer
, released in 2004. It peaked at number 6 on the Top Canadian Albums chart and number 43 on the Billboard
Top Heatseekers
chart. "Almost" b/w "Pendulums" was released as a single with "Almost" reaching the top 20 on Canadian pop charts. The track "Silver Road", included on the soundtrack for the film Men with Brooms
had been previously released as a single in 2003.
at Harmer's home. Drums and bass and guitars were recorded together using different rooms and the rest of the album was multi-tracked individually.
Guest musicians on the album include Howie Beck
, Gavin Brown
, Jim Bryson
and Ian Thornley
. Harmer plays a number of instruments on the album, including guitar, bass, and drums.
It was released in the U.S. on Zoë Records
.
gave the album 3 of 5 stars, stating it is "suffused with a peaceful fatalism, a mood that's as casually downbeat as Harmer's overcast voice itself."
Entertainment Weekly
gave All of Our Name a B+ rating, writing: "While it doesn't top her priceless 2000 debut, You Were Here, the fluid, moody Names comes respectably close. With a voice as silvery and luminous as a full moon, Harmer constructs daring metaphors to convey emotional perplexities... songs like the rueful "Tether" display Harmer's gift for setting human drama to fresh melodies." Paul Cantin of No Depression praised the album and remarked on its themes of rural life and the outdoors, also writing "... while there’s nothing here that quite reaches the dramatic punch of the latter album’s standout songs... All Of Our Names confirms that Harmer is, by any other name, a formidable, singular talent who has amply rewarded the patience of her fans."
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Sarah Harmer
Sarah Harmer
Sarah Harmer is a Canadian singer-songwriter and activist.-Biography:Born and raised in Burlington, Ontario, Harmer gained her first exposure to the musician's lifestyle as a teenager, when her older sister Mary started taking her to concerts by the well-known Tragically Hip. At the age of 17, she...
, released in 2004. It peaked at number 6 on the Top Canadian Albums chart and number 43 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...
chart. "Almost" b/w "Pendulums" was released as a single with "Almost" reaching the top 20 on Canadian pop charts. The track "Silver Road", included on the soundtrack for the film Men with Brooms
Men with Brooms (soundtrack)
Men with Brooms is the soundtrack album to the Canadian film Men with Brooms, released in 2002.-Track listing:# Sarah Harmer, "Silver Road" # Kathleen Edwards, "Hockey Skates" # The Tragically Hip, "Throwing Off Glass"...
had been previously released as a single in 2003.
History
The album was recorded using Digital PerformerDigital Performer
Digital Performer is a full-featured Digital Audio Workstation/Sequencer software package published by Mark of the Unicorn of Cambridge, Massachusetts for the Apple Macintosh platform.-Ancestry:...
at Harmer's home. Drums and bass and guitars were recorded together using different rooms and the rest of the album was multi-tracked individually.
Guest musicians on the album include Howie Beck
Howie Beck
Howie Beck is a Canadian singer-songwriter and producer based in Toronto. His debut album, 1997's Pop and Crash, was recorded at home while Beck recovered from mononucleosis.Beck began to attract attention outside of Canada with 1999's Hollow...
, Gavin Brown
Gavin Brown (musician)
Gavin "Golden" Brown is a multi-platinum, multi-Juno Award-winning Canadian record producer, songwriter, and musician.Brown is based in Toronto, Canada and Los Angeles, California. Having worked with a variety of acts, Gavin is best known for both his ability to develop and break young artists,...
, Jim Bryson
Jim Bryson
Jim Bryson is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Briefly a founding member of the band Punchbuggy, he moved to a musical life under his own name with the release of his debut album, The Occasionals, in 2000....
and Ian Thornley
Ian Thornley
Ian Thornley is a Canadian rock guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter.Born and raised in Toronto, Thornley studied jazz music at Boston's Berklee College of Music in the 1990s, and formed the band Big Wreck in 1993 with classmates David Henning, Brian Doherty, and Forrest Williams. They soon...
. Harmer plays a number of instruments on the album, including guitar, bass, and drums.
It was released in the U.S. on Zoë Records
Zoë Records
Zoë Records is an independent record label in the United States. It is a part of the Rounder Records group.Zoë predominantly distributes albums by folk rock and alternative pop artists...
.
Reception
Music critic Johnny Lofthus, writing for Allmusic, praised praised the album, calling it "homey and gorgeous" and calling Harmer's voice "starkly beautiful." "There's fully formed adult alternative stuff here, from the robust head-nod lilt of "Almost," to "New Enemy"'s more stately melody... This immediacy helps sell All of Our Names, since music like this can be smothered by over-production." Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
gave the album 3 of 5 stars, stating it is "suffused with a peaceful fatalism, a mood that's as casually downbeat as Harmer's overcast voice itself."
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave All of Our Name a B+ rating, writing: "While it doesn't top her priceless 2000 debut, You Were Here, the fluid, moody Names comes respectably close. With a voice as silvery and luminous as a full moon, Harmer constructs daring metaphors to convey emotional perplexities... songs like the rueful "Tether" display Harmer's gift for setting human drama to fresh melodies." Paul Cantin of No Depression praised the album and remarked on its themes of rural life and the outdoors, also writing "... while there’s nothing here that quite reaches the dramatic punch of the latter album’s standout songs... All Of Our Names confirms that Harmer is, by any other name, a formidable, singular talent who has amply rewarded the patience of her fans."
Track listing
- All songs written by Sarah Harmer.
- "Pendulums" – 3:26
- "Almost" – 3:57
- "Greeting Card Aisle" – 4:37
- "New Enemy" – 3:54
- "Silver Road" – 3:38
- "Dandelions in Bullet Holes" – 6:02
- "Things to Forget" – 3:34
- "Came on Lion" – 3:10
- "Took it All" – 4:41
- "Tether" – 3:21
- "Go to Sleep" – 3:38
Personnel
- Sarah HarmerSarah HarmerSarah Harmer is a Canadian singer-songwriter and activist.-Biography:Born and raised in Burlington, Ontario, Harmer gained her first exposure to the musician's lifestyle as a teenager, when her older sister Mary started taking her to concerts by the well-known Tragically Hip. At the age of 17, she...
– vocals, guitar, bass, piano, synthesizer, drums, glockenspiel, Wurlitzer, Juno - Gavin BrownGavin Brown (musician)Gavin "Golden" Brown is a multi-platinum, multi-Juno Award-winning Canadian record producer, songwriter, and musician.Brown is based in Toronto, Canada and Los Angeles, California. Having worked with a variety of acts, Gavin is best known for both his ability to develop and break young artists,...
– guitar, drums, Wurlitzer, baritone guitar - Howie BeckHowie BeckHowie Beck is a Canadian singer-songwriter and producer based in Toronto. His debut album, 1997's Pop and Crash, was recorded at home while Beck recovered from mononucleosis.Beck began to attract attention outside of Canada with 1999's Hollow...
– bass, drums - Jim BrysonJim BrysonJim Bryson is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Briefly a founding member of the band Punchbuggy, he moved to a musical life under his own name with the release of his debut album, The Occasionals, in 2000....
– guitar - Kevin Fox – cello
- Fuzzy – drums
- Maury LaFoy – bass, upright bass
- John Obercian – drums
- Benji Perosin – trumpet on "Came On Lion" and "Tether"
- Ian ThornleyIan ThornleyIan Thornley is a Canadian rock guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter.Born and raised in Toronto, Thornley studied jazz music at Boston's Berklee College of Music in the 1990s, and formed the band Big Wreck in 1993 with classmates David Henning, Brian Doherty, and Forrest Williams. They soon...
– guitar on "Pendulums"
Production
- Produced by Sarah Harmer, Martin Kinack and Gavin Brown
- Engineered by Eric Ratz and Sarah Harmer
- Mixed by Eric Ratz, Gavin Brown and Sarah Harmer
- Mastered by Greg Calbi
- Art direction by Steven Jurgensmeyer and Sarah Harmer
- Cover photo by Andrew MacNaughten