You could glean a great deal about singer/songwriter Drew Holcomb and his wife/bandmate/occasional co-writer Ellie from the fact that they named their first child Emmylou. The Holcombs’ daughter arrived almost simultaneously with Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors’ 2013 album Good Light, a set that was ecstatically received by the band’s zealous fan base and positively reviewed by an increasingly jaded coterie of music critics.
The band’s most recent effort, Medicine, was released in January to a similarly enthusiastic response, perhaps solid evidence that Holcomb and his crew have become masters of the mid-tempo Pop/Rock/Soul/Folk/Country groove that has been their hallmark from the very start.
Holcomb’s engaging songwriting style was front and center on his 2005 debut, Washed in Blue, which garnered nearly instantaneous attention from Hollywood music supervisors. In fairly short order, Holcomb assembled a grassroots following through TV soundtrack placements, which he reinforced by maintaining a relentlessly consistent road schedule, making fans out of other artists’ audiences by opening for Ryan Adams, The Avett Brothers, Susan Tedeschi and many others. (Holcomb began crediting albums to “Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors” with a 2007 Christmas album.)
Taking time out from the road for regular trips to the studio, Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors have assembled an impressive catalog to date, finishing up with the aforementioned Good Light and Medicine, perhaps the two best works Holcomb has produced in his decade of releasing music.
Holcomb has a knack for writing cinemascopic anthems that resonate on a deeply emotional level, creating songs that perfectly balance universal themes and intimately focused perspectives. Artists like Tom Petty, Jakob Dylan and Mark Knopfler have long been hailed for their unique ability to find the personal heart of a song and, quietly or loudly, connect it to a broad fan base. Add the name Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors to that hallowed roll call.
DREW HOLCOMB & THE NEIGHBORS
play Thursday at 20th Century Theater. Tickets/more info here.