''Family'' is the self-released third EP by

Noah Gundersen Noah Gundersen (born May 31, 1989) is an American indie folk singer-songwriter from Seattle. Early life Born in Olympia, Washington, Gundersen is the oldest of five biological and three adopted siblings, in a family that moved to Centralia, Was ...

. It was recorded by Daniel Mendez (who has previously worked with Lit, Dashboard Confessional,

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...

Heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

, and

Train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

) and mastered by Ed Brooks in just under a week in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. It was released on August 6, 2011. The 7-track EP features Noah's sister, Abby Gundersen, who plays violin and sings vocal harmonies on several tracks. ''Family'' has been called genre-defying and at times reminiscent of Ryan Adams,

Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes is an American indie folk band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 2006. The band consists of Robin Pecknold (vocals, guitar), Skyler Skjelset (guitar, mandolin, backing vocals), Casey Wescott (keyboards, mandolin, backing vocals), Ch ...

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

, and

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

. The EP can be downloaded on Noah Gundersen's

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

page. Noah felt the title of the EP to be fitting as it "pays homage to the people who have shaped his life." "Family comes in many forms," says Noah. "It lives with us, for better and for worse. It shapes us. That's what this album is about."

Track listing

# "David" – 3:39 # "Fire" – 4:47 # "Nashville" – 3:37 # "San Antonio Fading" – 4:12 # "Honest Songs" – 2:58 # "Garden" – 3:42 # "Family" – 3:34

Personnel

*Noah Gundersen – vocals/guitar *Abby Gundersen –

vocal harmony Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are simultaneously sung as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical chora ...

/violin/string composition *Daniel Mendez – production, recording, mixing *Ed Brooks – mastering

In popular culture

*The title track, "Family," appears in a season four episode of

The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the The Vampire Diaries (novel series), book series ...

called "Stand By Me". The song is also featured in a season four episode of

Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008 to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club ope ...

, entitled "With An X." *The song "David" also appears in a season four episode of

, called "Burnt and Purged Away." The song is also featured in a Season 3 episode of The Following, entitled "Reunion."

References

{{Reflist

External links

* http://noahgundersen.bandcamp.com/album/family 2011 EPs Noah Gundersen albums