Written by: Jennifer Moglia
On Friday, August 7th, Philadelphia-based emo/alternative band Rich People released “Harmony”, their second full-length record. This project serves as the follow up to 2018’s “Grace Session” EP and 2015’s “Jacob’s Ladder”, their debut album.
Originally pushed out on Bandcamp on June 5th, “Harmony” was introduced to the world about two months before the official release date, giving fans an opportunity to listen early. All of the proceeds from this were donated, with 50% going to the Philly Bail Fund and the other half supporting National Bail Funds.
During the first week of July, I sat down (virtually, of course...please continue to social distance and wear your masks!) with Blake Horner and Rob Rich of Rich People (both guitar/vocals) to discuss the new album and get any thoughts they had on each track. This review will consist of my own thoughts on “Harmony”, as well as some input from the band members taken from our conversation on Zoom.
“Harmony” opens with “Contrast”, a slow burn of an opener, almost reminiscent of an interlude in a musical, catching listeners up on what they may have missed so far and preparing them for what is still to come. It’s full of callbacks to older songs by the band, like “Dream Envy”, “Post Virgin”, and “Shared Name” off of “Jacob’s Ladder” and “White Mark” off of “Grace Session.” Vocalist Rob told us that this song was so much fun to write because of those references to past work, saying that he re-purposed those lyrics that he really liked from a different perspective now that he has a different attitude.
Track two, “No Age”, is one that fans will already be familiar with, since the song was officially released as a single on November 14th, 2019. Along with “Joy Notes”, which was released on April 24th, 2020 (and was separately reviewed here), the band has been playing it live for a few months now, starting in September while opening for Grayscale, Belmont, and Bearings on the Nella Vita Part One North American Tour. When writing the setlist for that tour, Rob says that the band was looking for the “most entertaining” songs they could be playing since they had such a short time to play, and these two songs fit that role perfectly.
Rob debuted “Broad Strokes” acoustically during an Instagram live stream with DIMM Entertainment on May 14th, 2020, but it wasn’t officially released until this record came out. With some danceable 80s pop vibes and some of the band’s most catchy, clever lyrics yet, this one is sure to become a hit for years to come. The vocalist’s personal favorite from this project, it shows fans what to expect from the “new” Rich People, with bigger production and a generally fuller, more layered and nuanced sound.
Next up is the instrumental track “Sound”, which does its best to (and succeeds at) evoking emotion without a single word sung or spoken; but was the song always meant to play out that way? “I actually wrote lyrics for that song,” says Rob, who opted not to include them knowing that they might have been misinterpreted, though he says he can still hear them when he listens to the final product. The band refers to it as “just sound” in its purest form, with all of the other factors stripped away, leaving each listener to decide what the track means for them.
Grayscale’s Collin Walsh is featured on “Kathleen”, a song dedicated to Rob’s mother Kathi Rich, fittingly released on Mother’s Day back in May 2020. The two singers’ voices blend together perfectly, showing just how impactful a loving relationship between a mother and son can be, and how much that relationship has helped Rob grow as a child, teenager, and even still today as an adult.
Track seven, “French Kiss”, a summer anthem about adults reminiscing on younger days and the places and people they knew back when things were simpler, features a mystery female voice singing that we knew we had to ask the band about. Mary Lou Larson, the wife of Taylor Larson who helped Rich People record this album, was in the studio when this song was being put together, said she would love to do some vocals for the song, and the rest is history. Blake described it as a “one of those freak things that you hear about, just right place, right time...it just elevated the vibe so much.”
One of the more vulnerable songs on the album, “Fairmount” talks about some of Rob’s experiences dealing with drug addiction, relapse, and recovery, more specifically watching the people around him deal with those things. Rich People have been no stranger to discussing heavy topics like this and raising awareness, which we believe is an incredibly important thing to do. Hearing Rob and Blake talk about how this particular memory impacted them both was a heavy, jarring thing, and the track conveys those emotions perfectly (it also includes a reference to “Cold Sweat”, the closing track on “Jacob’s Ladder”).
According to Rob, track nine “didn’t come out anything like [he] planned it”, but we think “Unlove” is one of the catchier songs on this project (despite Rob and Blake both disagreeing). It has a more non-traditional song structure, alternating between just one verse and a chorus, discussing the concept of the different ways to show love and appreciation towards someone in order to truly make them feel loved.
“Play”, at its core, is the epitome of what Rich People is all about, with both Rob and Blake calling it the best song that the band has ever done. A track about making the best of what you have and staying positive and determined, no matter how difficult things get, this has quickly become my favorite song on the album as well as possibly my favorite song by this band overall.
“Downtown” and “Domestic Cafe” fit perfectly together for the final stretch of this album, not so complex lyrically but just fun, pop-leaning tracks with simple, catchy lyrics. This furthers the common theme of this album that Rich People is going in, a poppier sound with more optimistic lyrical content.
The record closes with “Moving Parts” the last single released before the album dropped. A completely acoustic track, the lyrics take a look back at vocalist Rob’s mental state and perspective when he first started this band, and how his bandmates have helped him change and improve in that sense. It’s an incredibly personal and heartfelt song, and a perfect way to close out the album. Blake told us that he and the rest of the band had no clue what this song was about since Rob wouldn’t let them hear it until they got the final version of it back, joking that “it could’ve been a dubstep song.”
As a whole “Harmony” is Rich People’s most mature effort yet, keeping the same hometown charm and personal lyrics but combining those things with a more cohesive, fuller sound. Long-time fans of the Philly mellow rock band will appreciate this record almost just as much as the new fans who will discover them on this album cycle will.
Special thanks to Rob Rich and Blake Horner (both guitar/vocals for Rich People) for talking with us about their new album! You can follow them and the band on Twitter @richpeopleband @YouthMarked and @BlakeHorner as well as on Instagram @richpeopleband @robrichpeople and @b1akehorner. “Harmony” is available to stream wherever you listen to music, and vinyl, as well as album-themed merch, is available on the band’s online store.
Have you heard Rich People’s new album “Harmony” yet? Do you love it as much as we do? Let us know by tweeting us @lgndsoftmrw!