Press By year: 2007
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Sound Magazine – November 2007
“The second full-length release from Phoenix native & current Seattleite Daniel G. Harmann goes on to follow the same blueprint that he has followed his entire career: just be patient, and good things will happen eventually. They do, as is made clear on “A Dying Dove”, which recalls Radiohead, if that band were willing to fit their sound into a nightclub. Harmann and his cast of rotating characters picks up speed quick. Thankfully, he doesn’t ape Thom York, but he does have the coveted gift to only speak when necessary. When he does, you always feel inclined to listen.”
- Sound Magazine, November 2007
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The Wheel’s Still in Spin – “Anthems…” Review
“This album is full of musical landscapes that are lush, sincere, and diverse. He’s a singer-songwriter, but one who writes songs with a larger palette of emotions than most songwriters. This is the kind of album that would be perfect to listen to if you were taking a relaxing drive around the countryside, wanting to escape from, while keeping your mind focused on, a larger life.” BEST OF SEPTEMBER 2007
- The Wheel’s Still in Spin -
Smother.net – “Anthems…” Review
“Beautifully woven atmospheres and crafty textures of sonic bliss greet the ear immediately as Anthems from the Gentle War waves its way over your body, lending a sensation not much unlike the best orgasm ever. Art rock that is unafraid of taking challenges to heart, “Anthems…” escorts you through the hallways of indie pop, rock, and post-rock with passionate catchy hooks. The long lost descendant of Sigur Ros and Low, Daniel G. Harmann waves his magic wand of awesome songwriting and invites you inside for a cup of tea and a good talk. Energetically subtle and sincere with emotional vocal deliveries presented with imaginative ethereal sonic spaciousness.” EDITOR’S PICK
- Smother.net -
Independent Clauses – “Anthems…” Review
“Stuffing Daniel G. Harmann into the emo/indie genre would be a slap in the face to this compassionate artist. Just as heartfelt as rhythms from New Order, Daniel G. Harmann is a solo man that makes his music out of pure honesty. Harmann’s voice quivers with the melodies of his songs. In “A Dying Dove” his gentle voice conveys the stage of his life as someone who is searching for their place in a world full of turmoil. Daniel G. Harmann brings subtle beauty through his songs, something that should be admired. Harmann’s simple, sometimes repetitive lyrics like in “I’ve Turned To a Life of Crime” make the album flow from track to track almost as if weightlessly. Harmann whispers, speaks softly, takes deep breaths and blossoms throughout this album. It is hard not to appreciate an album such as this on a day spent out in the sun on a blanket just for you or inside sipping coffee while it sprinkles rain. The album can apply to many stages of life, which is masterful even if Harmann meant to or not. I’ll go to sleep tonight listening to “Go Now, Rush Ashore” and in the morning I’ll wake listening to Harmann’s gentle anthems. Luckily for us, Harmann provides the perfect soundtrack to help pull us through good and bad times in his fourth CD that I beseech anyone who is a self respecting music lover to pick up!”
- IndependentClauses.com -
Lazy-I.com – “Anthems…” Review
“The problem is getting past the first impressions — the plodding monotonous rhythms (a la Red House Painters), the mossy falsetto that becomes easy to ignore after the first few songs, the chiming, echo-filled guitars that show an adoration for shoe-gazers. It’d be easy to discard it as not tuneful enough, but downbeat hey-look-at-me anthems like “Beer from a Bottle”, “Last Swim of the Year” and “I’ve Turned to a Life of Crime,” (which ends with Harmann “beggin you to stay”) catch your gaze and holds it. Produced by Graig Markel of New Sweet Breath (remember those guys?), taken as a whole, it soars more than plods.”
- Lazy-I.com -
Aiding & Abetting – “Anthems…” Review
“Ambitious rock and roll. Harmann has a fine sense of melody, and part of that sense is to emphasize melody over rhythm. His guitar lines, in particular, ring out with almost impossible clarity. His traditional songwriting style (anthemic; that part of the title isn’t ironic) probably informs that part of the mix, but it’s effective in any case.”
- Aiding & Abetting -
Seattle PI – “Anthems…” Review
“This is a lovely, lilting record, but to call them songs isn’t accurate. For his fourth studio album, Seattleite Daniel G. Harmann has crafted nine lush dreamscapes that plod along in a slow and midtempo trance. Track to track, the playbook doesn’t change much: twinkling guitars, melancholy minor chords, distant vocals that — regardless of the words he’s actually crooning — echo a distant despair or some far-off loneliness. While this may not be the best sales pitch, “Anthems” is actually a very gratifying and certainly hypnotic meditation on woe.”
- Shawn Telford, the Seattle P-I -
Line Out – “Anthems…” Review
“Daniel G. Harmann’s songs drift and ache, sad but uplifting. I’d say they’re brave, but they’re more subdued than that. Feels like fall. His latest release, Anthems from the Gentle War, came out September 4th and was recorded at Recovery Room Studio in Greenwood. If the Cure were from the South, they’d sound like Harmann. Anthems rolls scenes from your memory back to when you used to lay on the grass and look at the sky. When you used to run away and roll marbles down a path of tamped earth. It’s muted and loud. A match to a moth wing.”
- Line Out | the Stranger Music Blog