Milwaukee is a weirdly folksy city. I mean, the entire state of Wisconsin is pretty damn folky (If you’re ever driving around up north, just pop on a Tallest Man on Earth record and you’ll immediately feel what I’m talking about), but Milwaukee is strange. For a city so urban, we have a ton of really great Indie Folk bands, and it seems like our community is pretty obsessed with the style as well (Trampled By Turtles plays here at least every couple of months). Perhaps we just have a lot of soul in our system that can only be released through acoustic guitars and banjos. In fact, that’s exactly it. Folk music is just Milwaukee soul, I guess. It’s the perfect genre to convey our weird breed of passion. That’s probably why former Milwaukee resident Miles Patzer, known HOSTS, sounds so great and so real on his debut album Hearttaker.

Now a Nashville resident, Hearttaker combines some incredibly passionate and raw vocals with a Ryan Adams flavored country rock. There are slide guitars and swinging rhythms all over the album, and they’re fronted by Patzer’s distinct vocals that seem to be a hybrid of Bob Dylan and Glen Hansard (Hansard is listed as an influence over on the album’s Noisetrade page, and damn is that accurate). Hearttaker fully establishes a distinct sound, never really falling into derivative sounds or ideas that plague Americana music like this. The opening track, Nineteen Years, meshes a frolicking rhythm of a Tallest Man on Earth Song with the breeziness of an Andrew Bird song, and it works pretty damn well.

The lyrics here are all pretty moody, mixing little anecdotes laced with an overarching despair. For an album with songs as upbeat as Hearttaker, the lyrics really help establish why exactly the whole thing is called Hearttaker in the first place. Tears, memories, fear (All of these alone are brought up on the gorgeous The Trees) are all brought up at one point or another. For a guy so young, Patzer is incredibly great at conveying some true heartbreak. Sonically, the album mostly works. There are a couple questionable flourishes here and there, like the heavy bass on I’m Lost (And In Trouble Tonight), a song that veers almost a little too far from the rest of the album sonically (Although the drumming on this track is quite nice). There are also some stunning moments on My Greatest Love, but the simple acoustic sound of the song doesn’t really lend itself to its nearly seven minute running length. Luckily enough, none of this is noteworthy enough to really detract from the album, since the entirety of Hearttaker is a pleasant but enjoyable ride. But for the most part, Patzer doesn’t make any sonic decisions that are out of line. The mix of reverb and acoustic guitar on the sparse song Take Out the Running Away is a great straightforward country song that transcends simple prettiness with Patzer’s raw delivery.

The best track on here, Until You’ve Won, is what really establishes HOSTS as an act to watch. I first heard a demo of Until You’ve Won back in 2011 when Patzer released it as a demo. Back then, it was a rough and raw acoustic track that had a lot of potential. This album version is that potential realized, with Until You’ve Won becoming a devastatingly raw track that draws from both Ryan Adams and Jeff Buckley. Patzer may not be the most technically skilled vocalist in the world, but he works around that with the raw passion he puts into all of his songs. The end of the song is a cathartic explosion, hinting of only greater things to come from this Milwaukee-Nashville transfusion.

Summary: Hearttaker, Nashville Americana artistHOSTS’ debut album, is an emotionally raw album that harkens back to Ryan Adams’ greater days. It’s sonically on point, lyrically heartbreaking, and overall intensely pleasant.

Choice Cuts: Until You’ve Won, Nineteen Years, Hearttaker

Leftovers: I’m Lost (And In Trouble Tonight)

B+

You can stream the whole album here, or you can watch a live version of I’m Lost (And In Trouble Tonight) below. Hearttaker is out now on Sun Blood Records.