The High Water Marks
THE HIGH WATER MARKS | PROCLAIMER OF THINGS | MINTY FRESH | FEB. 4th, 2022
Bio:
“I am so lucky to have been a musician throughout my life,” says Hilarie Sidney, currently fronting The High Water Marks, and best known as co-founder of the revered musical collective Elephant Six, and one of its three core bands The Apples In Stereo.
Based in her adopted home town of Grøa, Norway, Sidney and The High Water Marks are prepping to release a new single “Jenny,” the band’s first new music since the 2020 release of Ecstasy Rhymes, its first album in 13 years.
“Jenny” arrives via Minty Fresh on Sept. 24th, 2021 and kicks off a series of singles that will culminate in another all-new album Proclaimer of Things on Feb. 4th, 2022.
Following-up 13 years of being off the scene with a critically and commercially welcomed new album and then quickly coming in hot with another batch of 13 songs isn’t an accident. In this case, it’s a coping mechanism.
With the United States reaching a milestone of 1 in 500 people having succumbed to COVID-19, it’s tragic news that this statistic hits home for Sidney. Her mother, half a world away, passed from the virus earlier this year.
“Not being able to see her and knowing that she was alone, dying in a nursing home, still haunts me daily,” Sidney courageously reveals. “Ecstasy Rhymes had been such a fun and positive experience, but it became an emotionally turbulent time since my mom was sick. The pandemic didn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon, and it was so discouraging.”
Sidney knew that when she began to build a life in Norway with her band mate and husband Per Ole Bratset and their son, that she would be just a 12-hour flight from the rest of her family, but that 12 hours became something completely different under lockdown.
“I never factored in a pandemic,” she says. “At least my mom got to hear our record before she passed away. That means a lot to me because she was always really happy and supportive of my music.”
The thirteen songs that comprise Proclaimer of Things are just a drop in the bucket, considering how much Sidney has leaned on songwriting to take her mind off things.
“I feel like I can’t pick up the guitar without writing a little melody. As therapy, we decided to keep recording. We dove into the project to keep us sane, focused, and from going down the rabbit hole of depression and self-pity.”
“Hilarie was on fire,” says Per Ole of Sidney’s songwriting pace. “I think these are the best she’s ever written. She has a couple of tunes that are true departures too, some really slow and psychedelic ones, in addition to the beautiful pop songs that have become her signature.
Through it all, Sidney (Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards, and Drums) and the rest of The High Water Marks (Bratset on Vocals & Guitars, Logan Miller on Bass, Guitar, Backing Vocals, & Drums, and Øystein Megård on Drums, Keyboards, Backing Vocals, & Percussion) have made an album that is positive, light, happy, and meaningful.
“I think my mom would approve of my method of dealing with the grief of losing her. I hope that all of the positive energy and love that went into the making of this record will be felt by all who listen,” Sidney says with trademark optimism.
Proclaimer of Things, the latest album by The High Water Marks, is scheduled for release on Feb. 4th, 2022 on Minty Fresh.
ARCHIVE:
For Info and Assets about Ecstasy Rhymes, the 2020 album by The High Water Marks, click here.
More about The High Water Marks
With The High Water Marks making many waves with new music these days, it’s worth taking a moment to remember how we probably know Sidney best.
During her pre-Norway years living in Denver, Colorado, Sidney became the co-founder of one of the most influential musical collectives of the past 25 years. The Elephant 6 Recording Co. is a storied group of artists and Sidney was as at its nucleus as a founding member.
It was a “boys club,” she confesses.
Indeed, Sidney was the only woman among her band The Apples In Stereo and the other two acts – Neutral Milk Hotel and Olivia Tremor Control – that were the most visible members of Elephant 6, and as the umbrella opened to international recognition and acclaim, and to seemingly dozens of other bands that wanted to be a part, Sidney’s enthusiasm drifted.
Her passion for songwriting never wavered, however.
“Having been in the Apples and on the road since 1993, I started to have many more songs than could ever be released on an Apples record. I was piling up songs, and being surrounded by a group of men for so many years, one can lose oneself,” she confides.
Sidney eventually found a new musical partnership when she formed The High Water Marks, releasing a debut album (Songs About The Ocean) in 2003. The record was written and demoed through the mail with her now-husband and band mate, Per Ole Bratset, whom she initially met at an Apples gig in Norway in 2002. A follow-up album (Polar) arrived in 2007.
Life as a mom led Sidney to officially leave the Apples in 2006 and to put the music business on the back burner soon after. She continued writing songs, however, and headed in a new direction by beginning to finish up a Bachelor’s degree, which led to her being awarded a prestigious study abroad scholarship at the University of Oslo.
“Moving to Norway was everything I had hoped it would be,” she explains. “We have a work-life balance, health care, a living wage, five weeks of vacation, and freedom for our "son to roam without constant supervision.”
Now, thirteen years after releasing her last album as The High Water Marks, the band is back with new music that reflects the maturity, perseverance, songwriting, and performing talent that made Sidney’s contributions to Elephant 6 and The Apples so integral.
If she was marginalized in the early days, those notions are blown out by the wealth of perfect power pop that The High Water Marks has released since, one song after another that will take any fan of the songs that Sidney contributed to Apples recordings – her voice is instantly recognizable – right back to the most potent days of that band’s career.
Ecstasy Rhymes” the first album by The High Water Marks in 13 years, is out now. The follow-up album Proclaimer of Things arrives Feb. 4th, 2022. Both are available via Minty Fresh.
NEWS:
PRESS QUOTES:
“Instantly recalls the heyday of Elephant 6, with an earworm melody nestled in fuzzy indie rock production.”
“Clock-stopping, pulse-raising mega-pop.”
“Complex and considered arrangements... Sugar-coated melodies to spare.”
“Beautifully warm, catchy, high-energy... garage pop for the masses.”
“Winning post-punk pop that’s heavy on the fuzz. Potent melodies and propulsive hooks. An irresistible power pop gem.”
“Giddy pop... Punchy songwriting... Undeniably sunny.”
“Overtly tuneful, with hints of post-punk grit and wistful psychedelia.”
“Get a fix of the exquisitely crafted brand of lo-fi rock.”
“Infectious hooks, crashing drums and guitars, and delicious harmonies... Punk energy... Music that is made for jumping around to.”
“It’s classic indie rock, yeah, but there is something more coursing through its melodic veins, resulting in a wry distillation of influence and experience which few bands can express with any sense of finality. The High Water Marks manage this herculean task without the least bit of effort.”
“Top-notch indie pop-rock tracks abound.”
“Norway is also known as one of the happiest countries in the world. With its bright indie rock sound and upbeat melodies, this album is certainly evidence of that.”
“A blast of hook-laden numbers that careen and roll mightily away with jangling precision and indie rock smarts.”
“‘Ecstasy Rhymes’ seems to give 90’s indie pop/rock a fresh new look and it sounds fantastic.”
“A stripped down and almost punky take on the E6 sound that Sidney helped invent.”
“To have two stellar albums appear in such a short period of time is remarkable.”
PRESS RELEASES:
SOCIALS:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/highwatermarks
Instagram: www.instagram.com/thehighwatermarks
Twitter: www.twitter.com/thehwms
LISTEN:
Bandcamp: thehighwatermarks.bandcamp.com
Spotify: spoti.fi/3gsT21U
Apple: apple.co/3llpEho
Assets:
The High Water Marks (L-R): Logan Miller, Hilarie Sidney, Per Ole Bratset, Øystein Megård. Photo credit: Self-Portraits, Illustration by Per Ole Bratset. Click for hi-res.
The High Water Marks (L-R): Logan Miller, Hilarie Sidney, Per Ole Bratset, Øystein Megård. Photo credit: Self-Portraits, Illustration by Per Ole Bratset. Click for hi-res.
Proclaimer of Things cover art. Click for hi-res.
“Jenny” single cover art. Click for hi-res.
“Proclaimer of Things” single cover art. Click for hi-res.
“Fingers and Trees are Only Temporary” single cover art. Click for hi-res.
“Fantastic Machine” single cover art. Click for hi-res.