You might think any fledgling band would be flattered to speechlessness if The New York Times singled it out as the ringleader of a musical revival. But for the Brooklyn octet Hem, it was a bit of a mixed blessing.

The band was chosen by the legendary rag as a leading force in the revival of countrypolitan, the orchestral country-based style that was as revered by artists such as Tammy Wynette, Ray Charles and George Jones as it was rejected by some traditionally-minded audiences.

“We never meant to be the poster children for the revitalization of countrypolitan music,” founder Dan Mess