Check out the new album by Brooklyn-based "Countrypolitan" quartet, Hem. Funnel Cloud is the band's third studio album and has already received rave reviews and has been ranked by Paste Magazine as among the top 100 albums of 2007.

**** Four Stars! The homey indie-pop tunes on the band's third studio full-length come encased in gorgeous mini-orchestral arrangements that sound inspired by classic Disney scores, not dusty old Pentangle records. The music is grit-free but laced with melancholy. [SPIN]

The term "countrypolitan" has been used to describe Hem's style, but with each album release that characterization seems less and less adequate. While main songwriter Dan Messe has called the band's music "alt-country, pop-rock orchestral lullabies for adults," the influence of Tin Pan Alley and musicals from the '60s are just as evident as, say, the orchestral albums of Ray Charles or Glenn Campbell." [Independent-Mail Music]

This is an album best suited for the lonely late night hours; songs of romantic longing and wistful reflection; songs filled with heartache, yet shot through with hope; songs which feel old fashioned, yet are thoroughly modern.
At its best, listening to Funnel Cloud is like spending time with a dear friend in a time of need: easygoing, thought provoking, and both comfortable and comforting. [Twangville]