Harry Hochman waited three decades to become an overnight folk-rock sensation, and now, two years after his critically acclaimed debut Inside Out racked up hundreds of thousands of Spotify streams, the former bankruptcy attorney turned Venice Beach troubadour doubles down with Oh Michigan. The six-track EP that feels like a sun-faded postcard mailed from his current address on the Pacific back home to the Great Lakes.
Produced by Kevin Jarvis at the Sonic Boom Room, the record is stacked with L.A. ringers who’ve backed everyone from Springsteen to Lucinda Williams. Gia Ciambotti’s soaring harmonies, Aaron Steinberg and Zachary Ross trading guitar licks, Carl Byron’s keys swirling, and Dave Carpenter’s bass locking it all down. “I’m so privileged to be in L.A. where incredible musicians are happy to lend a hand to a passion project like this,” Hochman says, and you can hear every ounce of that gratitude in the grooves.
The title track “Oh Michigan” is the cornerstone: a breezy track that aches with expat longing. “I think everyone has a fantasy of going back to the place of their youth, and this is mine,” Hochman confesses. The Americana feel pours through welcoming everyone to sway along. The pull of a state he left behind decades ago is strong.
Come Home With Harry Hochman
Then there’s “When She Blows,” a gorgeous, wind-whipped ballad born in a Burning Man dust storm. The Accidentals’ were brought in on strings to add that sigh that we can all relate to. “When people ask me the secret of youth, I tell them I owe it all to psychedelics,” he jokes. The song feels exactly like that: a lucid hallucination you don’t want to end as you relax on the ground staring upwards at the chaos above.
We get the tempo turned up on “DynaGlide.” The interesting life of Harry Hochman provides plenty of songwriting inspiration. This one is a true tale of riding his latest Harley through a Utah storm. “Even the very worst day on a motorcycle is better than the very best day at the office,” he deadpans. Influences from the likes of songwriting legends like Bob Seger and Glen Frey can be felt here. Open-road guitars, thunderous toms, and a grin you can hear in every chord.
On “Claire de Lune,” Harry Hochman provides a grin-and-wink story of Berlin rave kids who somehow beat the odds and ended up married with children. The song glides on Byron’s piano and a playful lightness that feels like the morning after the best kind of bad decision. A chugging guitar gives it some depth while duet vocals let the song soar above.
Oh Michigan isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel; it’s just a damn fine ride on a well worn set of tires. Listeners may have not had these experiences personally but we can live through them with the talented songwriter. Pour a sunset whiskey, roll the windows down, and let Harry Hochman take you back to wherever ‘home’ still lives in your rear-view.
