Skip to main content

Maverick Ad

Home

Main navigation

  • Home
  • Cover Stories
  • Features
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Cashbox Legacy Awards
  • Past Covers
  • Weekly Archive
Neo-Americana Duo HuDost Confronts Climate Crisis with Powerful New Single ‘Fire of Eden’

Breadcrumb

  • Home
  • Neo-Americana Duo HuDost Confronts Climate Crisis with Powerful New Single ‘Fire of Eden’
HuDost
Fri Feb 07, 2025
Cashbox Canada

There's no shortage of artists who are concerned about climate change, but for HuDost, it’s personal. Their impassioned new single, “Fire of Eden,” was inspired by an epiphany vocalist/lyricist Moksha Sommer had while on the road, surveying the damage wrought by the California wildfires. She could see that the environmental upheavals she had been witnessing for two touring cycles held implications that were beyond troubling—not just for her, but for the baby she was pregnant with at the time. And of course, for the rest of us.

“I was on tour, performing and traveling, and the air was thick with smoke, making it impossible to perform,” she recalls. “I couldn’t help but reflect on the vulnerability I was feeling—not only as a woman carrying a child but as a person watching the environment around me deteriorate. It was a surreal and sobering moment, realizing how fragile both my personal situation and the world were.”

The song that resulted is a wholly appropriate concoction of fire and brimstone, painting disasters like the wildfires as harbingers of a truly biblical reckoning. When the great conflagration comes, we're told, there'll be nothing to do but “run to the river” and “cry out loud,” begging for forgiveness. The aural neo-Americana that accompanies those sentiments is every bit as ominous as you’d expect, but with a motive urgency that keeps the number well out of the realm of the maudlin. Sommer's haunting vocals mesh perfectly with partner Jemal Wade Hines’ guitars and keys, and the contributions of guest players like Chris Powell (drums and percussion) and SistaStrings & Anit Ghosh (strings) elevate the proceedings to a near-gospel level of righteous fervor.

open.spotify.com/album/7G19PQPx4cgXwVqqZWfheV

There's urgency of a different kind in the accompanying music video, an AI travelogue that puts the musicians smack-dab during fiery explosions that flare up in the most unexpected of places. Arresting images to be sure, but to Sommer and Hines, using modern technology to convey an environmental message is a vital metaphor for the hand-in-glove relationship science and humanism will need to maintain to pull our world back from the precipice of collapse.

“Fire of Eden” is one of 11 kinetically compelling tracks on HuDost's upcoming album, The Monkey in the Crown—their first in four years, and marking their 20th year as a band. Just as their legions of fans have learned to expect, the record is a rich tapestry of electric folk, Americana, and pop rock. Tracks like the new single and the previously released “Acting Out the Outrage” revel in affecting vocals and vibrant instrumentation that convey heartfelt musings on identity, resilience, and the complexities of our world.

The world has been complex, indeed, for Sommer and Hines, who met at a Rumi Festival put on by Turkish Sufis and have gone on to be musical partners, devoted spouses and activists committed to worthy causes like ONE (a nonprofit that works to end extreme poverty). Together, they’ve weathered challenges like Sommer’s 2008 brain surgery and the long road to recovery that followed. Their bonds—to each other and to the world—were further deepened by the birth of their two children (in 2013 and 2022).

These days, the HuDost family includes the music cognoscenti and the listening public alike. Writer Kristi Wooten called the group’s output “as sacred as a church service, [but] without the identifiers which can separate and shame non-believers.” Among those believers, count the voters who honored Sommer and Hines with an Independent Music Award (for Social Action Song) and two “Best of Nashville” awards. And don’t forget the consumers and programmers who have taken HuDost to #4 on the Canadian National Folk/Roots/Blues Chart, #9 on the U.S. Folk Radio Charts and #24 on the Billboard Folk/Americana chart.

The Monkey in the Crown is shaping up to surpass past releases, with a variety of exciting bundle options available for presale now. Fans can secure a limited-edition signed colored-vinyl release, a deluxe 2-CD edition featuring bonus instrumentals and acoustic tracks, and original artwork by Sommer. There's even a rare opportunity for the duo to write a personalized song for or with a lucky fan.

While copies won’t be shipped until the album’s official release at the very end of February, presale is open now—don’t miss your chance to grab these exclusive editions. Visit their Website for more details.

hudost.com
hudost.bandcamp.com/album/fire-of-eden-2
facebook.com/hudost
instagram.com/_hudost

Reviews
Album
HuDost
Month: Mar 2022
Chris Sunfield Canadian Artist Chris Sunfield Releases New Single, “Tomorrow’s…
Chicago Electropop Artist David Poole Debuts Other-Worldly (literally!) “Getaway Driver” Single Chicago Electropop Artist David Poole Debuts Other-Worldly (…
Peter Serrado Americana/Soul Rocker Peter Serrado Gets Honest and Self-Reflective…
Rory Taillon Rory Taillon Releases New Single “Welcome” from the album Drifting
The Black Gasolines Theatrical Art-Rockers The Black Gasolines Unleash Dynamite New…
Sarantos Chicago's Sarantos Assures That “Love ALWAYS Wins!” in New LGBTQIA+ Single
Victa Harnesses Sultry Late-Night Vibes in Seductive R&B-Pop “Keeping Score” Single Victa Harnesses Sultry Late-Night Vibes in Seductive R&B-Pop “…
Jackie K Jackie K Celebrates Gratitude in Hopeful ‘70s-Inspired “Dandelions…
Country Rising Star Amy Nelson Celebrates the Joyful Clumsiness of Falling in Love with “Trippin’” Country Rising Star Amy Nelson Celebrates the Joyful Clumsiness…
Beny Esguerra and New Tradition Music Nominated For 2022 Juno Beny Esguerra and New Tradition Music Nominated For 2022 Juno
Bobby Cameron (penned by Jamie Oppenheimer) Audiences are Taken On A Musical Road Trip with “White Car” Bobby Cameron (penned by Jamie Oppenheimer) Audiences are Taken On…
Chris Cachia Channels Old-School MC Energy with Modern Hip Hop on “Abundant Bank” Chris Cachia Channels Old-School MC Energy with Modern Hip Hop on “…
Canadian Folk & Roots Artist James Culleton Totally Rocks at Child’s Play with “Superfun” New Single Canadian Folk & Roots Artist James Culleton Totally Rocks at…
Laura Brino Singer/Songwriter Laura Brino Brings Audiences Back Home with New…
Marito Marques Marito Marques’ Marries Portugal’s Music Traditions with Two of…

Pagination

  • First page « First
  • Previous page ‹ Previous
  • …
  • Page 61
  • Page 62
  • Page 63
  • Page 64
  • Current page 65
  • Page 66
  • Page 67
  • Page 68
  • Page 69
  • …
  • Next page Next ›
  • Last page Last »

CEO/PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF
SANDY GRAHAM

email:sandygrahamemg@gmail.com 

Canadian Journalists:

Contributing Journalist - Canada and Global
Don Graham
email: dongrahamwriter@gmail.com

Contributing Journalist - Canada and Global
Lisa Hartt
email: lisahartt87@hotmail.com

Contributing Journalist - Canada 
Michael Williams
email: greydread@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

International Journalists:

Contributing Journalist - Sweden
Malin Osth
email: malin@musicdays.se

Contributing Journalist - Sweden
Jonas Tancred
email: jonas@musicdays.se

Contributing Journalist - USA
Rob Durkee 
email: rockster2746@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Web Developer/Technical Support
Chris Wardman

email: info@chriswardman.com
website: chriswardman.com

Cashbox Cover Design and Graphic Artist
Jain McMillan

email: jainmcmillan@gmail.com

Contributing Photographer 
Tracey Savein - South Paw Productions
southpawproductions@rogers.com

 

 

 

Footer menu

  • Home
  • Features
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Cashbox Archive
  • Issue Archive
  • Past Covers