Hospital Ships: “Honey Please”
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New York might be the cultural epicenter of the nation, but for Jordan Geiger, the tiny town of Lawrence, Kansas is a musical paradise. Since 2008, Geiger has crafted two albums under the moniker of Hospital Ships with the help of dozens of local friends. Despite the Midwestern setting, Hospital Ships’ music is as inventive as anything made in Brooklyn.
Geiger has years of experience both as a songwriter and a multi-instrumentalist, acting as a touring member of Shearwater and a number of other Lawrence-area bands. 2008 saw the release of Hospital Ships’ debut, Oh, Ramona, a well-received record that started turning heads for the young musician. Yet as Geiger admits, he found that debut too self-involved: he recorded nearly every instrument by himself, creating a quintessential “bedroom pop” album. So for this year’s Lonely Twin, Geiger recruited a number of friends to open up the songwriting process. The result is a set of songs that burst at the seams with ideas and hooks, using a wide variety of instrumentation and recording techniques to craft music that jumps out of the speakers.
“Honey Please” is a perfect example of the effort that went into the recording, sounding like another Midwestern band: the Flaming Lips. The similarity isn’t lost on Geiger; he even named his band after one of their songs. Take a listen to “Honey Please” below.
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