| Allmusic |
 For the uninitiated, it hardly matters whether their introduction to the Danielson Famile comes in the form of a retrospective, a studio recording, a film, or in concert. All it really takes is a few minutes in the shrieking presence of Ringmaster Daniel Smith's alternately tender, ferocious and undeniably forward-thinking Christian post-punk/alternative folk collective for one to figure out whether or not they have the patience to commit to the full circus or not. To call the songs that inhabit the two-disc Trying Hartz anthology "outsider music" is doing the term a disservice. Through 28 tracks culled from works released between 1996 and 2004, Trying Hartz follows Smith, along with his siblings and friends on a ten year vision quest, capably described by author Rick Moody in the liner notes as "proto-minimalist eccentric gospel band to prog-metal-dread outfit to music hall choir to indie rock one-man band to outsider art celebrity to family man and family member." From the early, lo-fi folk of Prayer for Every Hour and Tell Another Joke at the Ol' Choppin' Block to the tight, focused, immaculately mad snap of the Steve Albini-produced Fetch the Compass Kids, Trying Hartz (which in true Danielson fashion is available with an optional limited-edition "Danielson" shoe created by the John Fluevog boutique) is a far more inclusive, pure and honest testament to faith than the soulless, over-produced fast food that passes for contemporary gospel in the 21st century....full text |
|
| Pitchforkmedia |
Danielson's Daniel Smith enjoyed a breakthrough with 2006's Ships, a stunning record that topped his previous work despite not straying from his central aesthetics-- it was as unusual, as packed, and as focused on religion as its predecessors. Trying Hartz, a 2xCD, 28-track best-of collection, is a second point of entry for Danielson newcomers, a guide through his dense, hit-or-miss pre-Ships affairs, which could be a difficult slog for anyone without either a strong attention span or a long road trip ahead. But they also indicate that Danielson Famile's quirkiness and religious convictions aren't something to "get past," and that, most of all, Ships didn't succeed because it marked out new territory but because of steady improvement in the group's craft.
Trying Hartz would have been better served and more useful coming right on the heels of Ships, when curiousity over the band's back catalog was probably at its peak. By this point, curious Ships listeners have likely pillaged Danielson's discography; for those who always knew about the gems lurking on the group's previous LPs, it's hard to imagine the eight live tracks here are a proper substitute for either the originals or one's fond memories of Danielson's communal live sing-alongs.
My own first experience with the Danielson Famile actually was a road trip along with their 2001 LP, Fetch the Compass Kids. Luckily that album, their best pre-Ships, is well represented, though many of my other favorites from the Danielson discography are absent ("We Don't Say Shut Up", "Things Against Stuff", "Gorgeous New Age", "Flesh Thang"). The only new tracks are a pair of six-second bookends, "Now Try" and closer "Cheer Hart". The older tracks are bursting with two- or three-note organ and keyboard lines, quick rhythms, and halting breaks....full text |
|
| Slantmagazine |
| Fruit has always been a motif for Danielson. The band's mission statement is to musically bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit; lead singer Daniel Smith has dressed up as an elaborate, nine-foot-tall fruit tree on stage; and now they've released Trying Hartz (First Fruits '94 - '04), a not-quite-career-spanning collection that plays as a satisfying, if slightly rough, musical cider. There's a haphazard feeling to the album's two-disc construction, put together in non-chronological order and without any sense of theme but which nonetheless adds a welcome air of manic instability. The album suffers slightly because it excludes songs from 2006's Ships, the band's best work to date, but as a historical document of their first 10 years, Trying Hartz is nothing if not representative: In addition to seven live bonus tracks, the collection is comprised of 21 songs culled from the band's first six albums. The live tracks are paltry and often silly but there are brief moments of brilliance. "Don't You Be the Judge," in which Danielson picks crowd members to improvise song verses ending with the title phrase, is almost cringe-inducing but also clearly exhibits the ebullient spirit of the band's live performances, while "Sold to the Nice Rich Man" embodies the simplistic sprit of a children's sing-along, a fact only abetted by Smith's tendency to trill like a cartoon mouse. Put simply, Danielson is refreshingly bizarre, one of those rare bands that exists on its own creative plane, sometimes succeeding because of its Christian leanings and sometimes in spite of them. Here, as with any of their work, there is no hint of proselytizing; even serious ideas are presented with such easy-going buoyancy that it's nearly impossible to get through a song with a straight face. Despite its no-frills approach, Trying Hartz works solidly, presenting a satisfying microcosm of one of the world's most inventive and ridiculous bands....full text |
|
Send "Danielson " Ringtones to your Cell 
