Album Review: Bailen Are Thrilled To Be Here

I love Bailen. Their sound is gorgeously and casually empowering. To hear their debut, Thrilled To Be Here, is like turning your heart’s wonders into a Planet Earth episode. Picture it! What if you could watch your life and observe your soul as if it was a cinema piece based on nature? What would you learn about yourself? Moreover, would you walk away admiring yourself as one, usually, does the earth when finishing a PE episode? 

Thrilled To Be Here makes daily life, even at its lowest, feel exciting and beautiful. It starts with the Bailen siblings’ harmonies. David, Daniel and Julia unite their voices like water clearing away the smut in your heart. Unfortunately, we live in a world where disappointment is common, and it pollutes our faith in better days and bigger surprises. As the trio harmonize through songs such as, “Eyelashes,” “Careless Living,” “Bottle It Up,” and “Not Gonna Take Me,” they appear like a folksy, resounding call for hope.

To Bailen, it’s not simply about believing better things will happen. Its about believing that you will always be bold and try to live your life greatly even when it is less than good. It is a wonderful message, especially in a world trying to figure out if you can be happy as a person if your situation is sad. From “I Was Wrong” to “Rose Leaves,” each sibling interchanges lead on vocals, but they all share a clarifying effect. They pin their notes like one would a hanging thread to a  quilt they are sewing.

Bailen wants their listeners to hang on to both their music and messages, which made them feel like a cross between Pinegrove and The Lone Bellow; creating stringed opuses that promoted self-love. Sometimes that term, “self-love,” feels like a daunting task, but, to Bailen, it is about acting like you are Thrilled To Be Here, alive on earth, until you find that one day you, actually, are. For More Information on Bailen’s Thrilled To Be Here, Out April 26, Click Here