The Hems

Dusty McClellan and Jamie Zanelotti make up The Hems, an acoustic duo based out of Austin. Those Early Years is an apt title for the duo’s debut album, and one of its highlights – the final track, “Rebecca," is a moving reflection on the pains of growing up, as well as love.

An unassuming ballad, “Rebecca” is driven by sisterly affection, and the helplessness family members feel when their loved ones’ lives go awry. Zanelotti claims the song is not autobiographical, but with its real, sorrowfully penned lyrics, it might as well be.

A soft harmonica quietly punctuates the story behind the song, a basic tale about a girl coming to terms with life’s disappointments and love’s wounds. The truth is, a song like this plays exactly to country music’s narrative strengths: its simple, powerful humanism. The tragedy told here is never the kind of broad strokes which make their way into the history books. Rather, it’s homespun, bittersweet and deeply personal.

The Hems may appear to be merely the latest of many attractive acoustic folk couplings emerging out of the Austin scene. But to peg them as such would diminish the unlocked potential “Rebecca” represents, namely Zanelotti’s tremendous capacity to serve as sympathetic voice to the unsung. I hope to hear more personal stylings in the future. - Indie Shuffle- Andy Hoglund