Lara Hope – Here to Tell the Tale
Joe Siegler
- AllMyVinyl #126
- Band: Lara Hope & The Ark-Tones
- Album Title: Here to Tell the Tale
- Release Date: 25 Jun 2021
- Date purchased: 20 May 2021
- Location purchased: Indiegogo Campaign
- Color of vinyl: white
- Number of discs: 1
- Links: [ Wikipedia N/A | Discogs | Band Website | Complete album on Youtube ]
NOTE: I have the band name as just “Lara Hope” on the page title, but that’s just to save space on the display. The official band name is “Lara Hope & The Ark-Tones”.
Before I get into this band and the music, I wanted to spend a few minutes talking about how I got into this band. I’m a big fan of Brian Setzer, and in particular his Christmas show. In the fall of 2018, I got a ticket to see the show in the Dallas area, but as per usual with his tours, I had no idea who the opener was. I’ve seen Setzer’s Christmas show a few times, and every time his opener is a big pile of “who the hell is that?” So in 2018 the same thing happened. They announced “Lara Hope & The Ark-Tones” and I had no idea who that was. So, I get there and watch the show, and fell in love instantly . Setzer can pick an opener, and this was a banger. Normally I’m not into bands live when I don’t know any of their material, but this all worked. It was epicly awesome. When the show was over, I met the band at the merch table, and got a pic with Lara Hope. Since then I became a bit obsessed. I bought everything physical media by Lara Hope either on her own, with the Ark-Tones or any of her other bands (she used to be in a NY punk (?) band called “Tiger Piss”). This stuff is rockabilly with a country twist. It’s damn awesome stuff.
I was supposed to see her in 2020 in Dallas – there was a show booked on a southern tour, and then Covid happened, and that tour was canceled. Never saw that. The band had recorded some new material, and there was to be a demo CD sold at merch tables on that tour, so Covid blew out the bands plan for their next album (the one on this page) – it got delayed because of all that. The band during lockdowns since they couldn’t play any live shows, they did live streams every Monday night. I tuned in to just about every single one of them. They were all kinds of fun. Loved hanging out with the other regulars. My wife and I would frequently eat dinner in the living room with the shows on.
At some point in early 2021 it was announced during one of the live streams that the album was going to come out. So in May of 2021 we got the word that “Here to Tell the Tale” (the band’s third full studio album) was going to be released in the spring. They did an Indiegogo campaign which I instantly got behind. Because of that, I got a colored vinyl (white) from them. They printed 102 of these, and mine was numbered #10. The aforementioned Demo CD was eventually sold as merch by the band online, I have that too. I actually like the white on this album – it seems to work visually for me. I know that has nothing to do with the music, just the physical look of the vinyl, but hey – it’s my copy, so I’ll say something. :)
It’a a fun throwback sounding album. It’s got 11 songs, and totals 38 minutes, so it’s late 70’s in that regard, it’s not 72 minutes and too many songs. The longest song is 4:59, so none of the songs overstay their welcome. Good, solid straight forward rock and roll by someone whose voice I quite enjoy.
Let’s Go! – I absolutely adore the main riff to this song. So much so that I’ve made it the ring tone on my phone. From the first time I ever heard this song until today the riff gets me every time. It’s probably my single favorite guitar riff from any song by any incarnation of this band – ever. It’s a smokingly hot riff, the song is off the charts awesome. While this band is known for Rockabilly and crossovers into straight up country, this is a flat out rocker – there’s no doubt about it. It’s also a bit of an outlier in that there’s no others on this album that are balls out rockin’ like this one. I’d prefer a full album of 10-12 songs like this. Doesn’t mean the rest of the album is like this, but it’s a bit of a tease opening the album with this song and then not having any more like it on the album. It’s also a fast, slick song at 3:02 – one of my favorite things.e
There was also a fun video produced for this song. It involves the band having their instruments stolen and them having to go around town to recover them in time to play a concert (which takes place in their own back yard, but never mind that real life bomb – ha). It’s got an amusing cartoonish feel – almost Looney Tunes in its execution of the humor. Fun video to go with a fun song. If you’re reading this on my blog, the video is embedded on the page.
Finally, I’ve included a video of my phone in this – I called myself from another line and recorded about 10 seconds of my phone ringing so you can hear the ringtone. That’s partially for Lara herself who I know sees my stuff. haha. BTW, it says “Dumbass” on the phone because about 8 years ago my brother grabbed my phone, said “Hey Siri – call me dumbass”, and I never fixed it. :)
Stop, Drop, & Roll – The second song on the album starts off with a bass run. The bassist on the album (Matt Goldpaugh) plays a standup bass – I mean it is rockabilly after all (ha) they’re known for. This one is a much slower paced song than Let’s Go (bu then most of the album is). It’s got a guitar accent mixed in that has an almost country twang to it. A straightforward rock track. Eddie’s guitar solo is a bit restrained, but has a bit of that Brian Setzer sound to it, so it’s good stuff. The song ends up with a sound that has a 50’s rock feel to it, which is a nice sound. The kind of thing you might hear watching Marty McFly walk around the Hill Valley square. :)
Here to Tell the Tale – This one is faster paced like the first song, and it’s got a great sound to it. Some clean guitar work, nothing super complicated, but as I’ve said before it doesn’t have to be to be a good song. The guitar solo in this one seems a bit faster paced than the rest of the song – all with Matt’s thumping bass running through it at the same time. What carries this song mostly IMO is Lara’s vocals, which start off slow, get fast, then drop down a bit before finishing off with a nice paced delivery in the final verse. Good solid song. I particularly love the vocal delivery in the actual title of the song being sung – has some nice accented background vocals with it too.
Some Advice – This one is just fun. It’s a song Lara wrote about her mother and the “advice” she’d give her on various things in life (pay your taxes, have children, etc). When this song would be on the live streams I spoke of earlier, those of us hanging would type in “Some Advice” as if we were singing background with the rest of the band – that was always fun. I miss those old live streams when everyone was stuck at home. I showed up for nearly all of them.
However the best part of this song is a recording Lara used of her own mother in the song dispensing some of the advice – was a fun angle. “Have some children” is a good one. hahaha. The coolest part of this is Lara’s mother turned up on a couple of the live streams to actually sing her part of the song. That’s a riot.
The song itself is fine musically, but for me it’s more of the comedy for me (the listener) having the target of the song show up on the song to dispense advice. This is a funny ass song for sure. My wife also loved the use of “Mrs Degree” in the lyrics.
Whoa is Me – This is one of those songs that starts off slow, and kicks into a higher gear. This is one of the songs that crossover into a country song a bit – but not fully in that camp. It’s a big time toe tapper to me – the beat is catchy as hell, and one that makes me want to move. Also being a faster paced song makes it more up my alley.
The guitar solo sounds like something I’ve heard before on a TV show or something like that, but I can’t place it. Especially the first part. It’s another one that’s got a more simple beat but one that works for me fully – I’m into the beat here big time. There’s a part towards the end of the song that really feels like a good old fashioned audience participation part – no music playing just Lara and what seems like an encouragement to clap – something I could have easily seen her lead a crowd with.
It’s A Crime – The longest song on the album (at 4:59). This song is mostly driven by a slower beat, one that sees the guitar take a back seat for the bulk of the song. It’s always there, but the bass is far more noticeable here than usual. There’s some background vocals here with Lara, I’m unclear if it’s her doing her own background singing in the studio or not. There’s a little saxophone accent in here too. This song never gets too fast, but it does have parts where it gets a little faster, but generally stays in the slow lane. A nice change of pace song that comes about halfway through the album (track 6 of 11).
Running in Circles – Outside of Let’s Go, this is probably my favorite song on the album. Love the pacing (gee, it’s a faster one). It starts off with a whistling sound which sounds like it would be right out of “Good, Bad, & The Ugly” – haha. It’s not super in your face like Let’s Go is, but it has a nice faster twang-y sound on the guitar I quite like. I can’t put this one to words really well, but I love the vocal delivery Lara has when the lyric “procrastination” comes up in the song (which it does a couple of times). Has a few changes of pace too – always something I enjoy.
Knocked Out – Another song that sounds like it would fit in back in the Back to The Future bit when Marty McFly is hanging out in the 50’s. Great upbeat song. Nice guitar accents, good, solid beat. Another one that gets my feet tapping sitting at my desk, but the absolute best part for me comes towards the end of the song. Theband goes mostly silent and it’s just Lara’s vocals with some light piano accents. I always adore her singing, but she goes over the top here with delivery. Specifically the section with these lyrics… “there’s drool on my pillow”. The vocal delivery of pillow is a testament to her vocal talent. I love that part. A LOT.
The Art of Asking – A slower “doo-wop” song at the start. After about 45 seconds it kicks into a higher gear. It’s a totally different sound once the full band kicks in there. The slow part reappeared briefly, but this is a faster paced song. I have no idea what the lyrics are about, but I just love the beat, and the way this flows. I’m guilty over overlooking this song myself, but every time I listen to the whole album I enjoy this when I hear it. Love the time changes, love Lara’s vocal delivery. It’s a good track if perhaps not a very well known one.
12 Minutes of Hot Water – This song is an odd little beast. It’s about what the title says. It’s about only having so much hot water in one’s shower. This got played a lot on the live streams, and ended up on this album. Yeah, this one doesn’t do it for me. The guitar solo is quite nice though – but he rest of the songs countdown to how much less hot water you have in a shower… Yeah, I’ll pass here.
I Drink to Your Health – This is a song that’s been around with the band for awhile. They did it live that first night I saw them, and they frequently played it during the live streams, but they finally got around to recording it. It’s their usual end of live concerts song – toasting the crowd if you will. It’s a great song, but the studio version seems to lack some of the oomph the live version does. It’s not bad or anything, I still really dig the song, but I prefer to see this done live.
Overall, this is one of those albums that for me is totally dominated by a single song (Let’s Go!). Now that’s not to say there’s not other good stuff on here, as there is. But when I think if this album I think of “Let’s Go”, and a bunch of other songs. Having said that, I really hope we get another album of material from Lara – I have all her albums, need another to add to the collection. :)
