“Yuri has the kind of voice that reminded me of all those great indie pop bands that called San Francisco home in the late ’90s.” —Tim Hinely, Dagger
OAKLAND, CA (September 23, 2019) – “Subway Song,” the second single from California duo My Little Hum, travels above the bustling city of New York with indie-pop vibrancy. As songwriter Yuri Jewett gazes down from a crowded raised-track subway car in the Bronx, she admires the city and its hidden gems. “Subway Song” imagines the possible connections between people riding the subway who will probably never see each other again once they leave the train.
Haunting vocal countermelodies illuminate the break as the song dances to the vivacious hum of the big city. The main guitar line weaves in and out with an urgent urgent staccato as Yuri delivers her signature line about standing in someone else’s shoes. Robert Vickers’ (The Incredible Vickers Brothers, Orange Peels) adds a driving beat that builds tension until Dan’s melodic guitar part and bassline glide in like a train leaving the station.
The second full-length album from My Little Hum, Pioneer, is a return to the band’s glittery pop sound featuring shimmering guitars, crunchy bubbling bass, catchy melodies and lush female vocal harmony, all produced and engineered, once again, by Mystery Lawn Music guru Allen Clapp (Orange Peels). The album’s genesis occurred when Yuri was selected to join an urban design master’s program in New York City. This meant the husband-and-wife team would be living on separate coasts for a while. Yuri wrote lyrics touching on themes related to her new urban environs including the stunning “November in New York,” a slice of Gotham that she penciled on the roof of the Spitzer School of Architecture between her studio classes, while Dan sketched out guitar tracks in their Oakland home studio and fed the cat. Yuri also found NYC inspiration in other forms of daily life, like shuffling back and forth on the 1 subway train (“Subway Song”) and observing young students from all over the world break new ground in urban design and social change (“Terra Firma”). Soon the music duo realized that the pioneering go-getter-types they were writing about were everywhere: from the memories of the couple’s very own recently-departed but trend-setting fathers (“One of a Kind”, “Runway Lights”) to the industriousness of the worker bees that reside in the couple’s backyard hives (“Don’t Build It Alone”); even the band’s version of a 1980s hit by Christopher Cross plays into the desire to explore unknown places (“Sailing”). Rising to new levels of self-assuredness on their second album, Dan and Yuri infused Pioneer with a new level of joyous musical and lyrical confidence, which is evident in every track.
Pioneer Track Listing:
- One of a Kind
- Don’t Build It Alone
- November in New York
- Runway Lights
- Terra Firma
- Sailing
- Subway Song
- Pioneer 10
About My Little Hum
My Little Hum is the husband and wife duo Yuri Jewett (vocals/keyboards) and Dan Jewett (guitars/bass). Their sophomore album, Pioneer, was produced and engineered by Allen Clapp (Orange Peels) and mastered by Myles Boisen (Tom Waits, Fred Frith) and is being released on Mystery Lawn Music. The album features Bob Vickers (Incredible Vickers Brothers, Orange Peels) on drums, as well as Jonathan Segel (Camper Van Beethoven) on violins. The artwork featured on the cover was created by master illustrator Wayne Brezinka who has done cut-out-style artwork for numerous top-selling albums. The artwork for the single was shot by Dan as he and Yuri waited for the 1 train in New York as dusk illuminated the tracks and sky — Dan got the shot and then dived through the closing doors.
Praise for My Little Hum
“‘Rise Over Run’ balances a rock noisiness with some curious, math-inflected content on the lyrical side, delivered honestly and coolly by Yuri.” —Magnet Magazine
“Chiming guitars, lovely overdubbed vocal harmonies, and wonderfully active McCartney-esque bass are just some of the hallmarks of this nine-song collection.” — Bill Kopp, Musoscribe
