III is a prosaic title for a release as ambitious as the Lumineers' third effort.
The numeric title carries a double meaning: the album is a song cycle told in three parts, with the first two available as a digital EP prior to the September 2019 release of III.
Through these three chapters, the Lumineers tell a tale of the long-lasting ramifications of addiction and co-dependence.
The ten ruminative songs (the deluxe edition adds three bonus tracks, including a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Democracy" and the slight sketch "Soundtrack Song") are collectively a far cry from the rousing stomp of "Ho Hey." Tempos rarely quicken and the arrangements often do little more than gently cradle the plaintive voice of Wesley Schultz.
When the record does get a little lively, as it does on "It Wasn't Easy to Be Happy for You" and the searching closer "Salt and the Sea," there's still a melancholy undercurrent tying the whole record together.
Schultz and co-writer Jeremiah Fraites etch telling details into their story that make the sadness seem earned and realized, if lugubrious.
III moves at a deliberate, nearly dreary pace that forces a listener to pay attention, and while it can take some effort to meet the Lumineers on their own terms, it's nevertheless easy to admire the ambition behind the project.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DonnaJeremiah Fraites, Wesley Schultz | The Lumineers | Play | 03:06 | 7 MB | 15 MB |
| 2 | Life in the CityJeremiah Fraites, Wesley Schultz | The Lumineers | Play | 03:51 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 3 | GloriaJeremiah Fraites, Wesley Schultz | The Lumineers | Play | 03:36 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 4 | It Wasn't Easy to Be Happy for YouJeremiah Fraites, Wesley Schultz | The Lumineers | Play | 03:34 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 5 | Leader of the LandslideJeremiah Fraites, Wesley Schultz | The Lumineers | Play | 05:54 | 13 MB | 33 MB |
| 6 | Left for DenverJeremiah Fraites, Wesley Schultz | The Lumineers | Play | 03:16 | 7 MB | 16 MB |
| 7 | My CellJeremiah Fraites, Wesley Schultz | The Lumineers | Play | 03:16 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 8 | Jimmy SparksJeremiah Fraites, Wesley Schultz | The Lumineers | Play | 05:56 | 13 MB | 31 MB |
| 9 | AprilJeremiah Fraites, Wesley Schultz | The Lumineers | Play | 00:50 | 1 MB | 3 MB |
| 10 | Salt and the SeaJeremiah Fraites, Wesley Schultz | The Lumineers | Play | 04:30 | 10 MB | 22 MB |
| 11 | DemocracyLeonard Cohen | The Lumineers | Play | 06:44 | 15 MB | 42 MB |
| 12 | Old LadyJeremiah Fraites, Wesley Schultz | The Lumineers | Play | 04:17 | 9 MB | 21 MB |
| 13 | Soundtrack SongJeremiah Fraites, Wesley Schultz | The Lumineers | Play | 02:01 | 4 MB | 12 MB |
| 50 mins | 117 MB | |||||
| 50 mins | 288 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Baron | Arranger, Engineer, Harmonium, Keyboards, Mixing, Synthesizer |
| 2 | Nicholas Sutton Bell | Creative Director |
| 3 | Leonard Cohen | Composer |
| 4 | Will Duperier | Assistant Engineer |
| 5 | F.A.M.E.'s Project | Engineer, Orchestration |
| 6 | Simone Felice | Maracas, Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 7 | Jeremiah Fraites | Composer, Cymbals, Drums, Engineer, Guitar, Piano, Producer, Scraper, Synthesizer, Tambourine, Vibraphone, Vocals (Background) |
| 8 | Tom Hagerman | Arranger |
| 9 | Pete Hanlon | Engineer |
| 10 | Darren Heelis | Engineer |
| 11 | Ryan Hewitt | Engineer, Mixing |
| 12 | Byron Isaacs | Bass, Vocals (Background) |
| 13 | Lauren Jacobson | Violin, Vocals (Background) |
| 14 | Max Knies | Photography |
| 15 | Oleg Kondratenko | Conductor |
| 16 | Bob Ludwig | Mastering |
| 17 | The Lumineers | Primary Artist |
| 18 | Connor Milton | Assistant Engineer |
| 19 | Philip Muellerschoen | Marketing |
| 20 | Dylan Nowik | Assistant |
| 21 | Tomas Cristobal Patlan | Portrait Photography |
| 22 | Kevin Phillips | Photography |
| 23 | Anneke Schaul-Yoder | Cello, Yodeling |
| 24 | Wesley Schultz | Composer, Engineer, Guitar, Producer, Vocals |
| 25 | Alen Adzi Stefanov | Engineer |
| 26 | Cole Stokley | Marketing |
| 27 | Webb Sisters | Vocals (Background) |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |