Review of Hope of the States's CD "The Lost Riots"

Hope of the States: The Lost Riots

It is never easy to be labeled "the next big thing" on the basis of a few singles and a handful of electrifying gigs, but Hope of the States have managed to overcome such a daunting task and also the tragic loss of a band member to land firmly on both feet. "Lost Riots" has arrived after a very troublesome period for the band and on first impressions you would imagine the band to have taken a very sombre approach to their debut album from the taste of previous singles such as "The red, the white, the blue, the black" and "Black Dollar Bills". This moody feeling is closely reflected in the moody instrumental opening number that is "The Black Amnesia's" which kicks off the album with blistering guitars that echo into an orchestra masterpiece of noise tearing with distortion. The album then quickly unfolds into another single "Enemies/Friends" which manages to unleash a completely different side to the band created by the song beforehand. "Enemies/Friends" manages to fold into a more typical Hope of the States offering, with a thudding drumbeat, lovely guitars and sing-a-long vocals which offer a very "summery" optimistic feel.

The next song "66 sleepers to summer" only adds to the summer feel and by the time latest single "The red, the white, the blue, the black" unfolds into its masterful urgency you really do feel mowed down in awe by a band who easily seem to twitch from a quieter mood driven song to demand your attention through beautiful yet overpowering noise, proved once again by blending into the classic "Black dollar bills" which got the band their deserved recognition in the first place.

Unfortunately the album does not kick along perfectly, with "George Washington" and "Me ves y sufres" both lacking the impact the previous songs held and managing to roll on quite insignificantly. Although not terrible songs themselves, you feel the songs lack a certain feeling which vocalist Sam Herlihy manages to create so effortlessly onto other tracks. This isn't something which lasts for long however, as the rest of the album manages to pick up the pace and leave you with some splendid songs which will stick in your head for a long time such as instant anthem "Nehemiah" and beautiful closing number "1776" which after a short gap manages to kick up again into an amazing hidden song with a lot of punch, allowing the guitars sound to really bleed out of the speakers and drench you with the sound.

Hope of the States have risen from tragedy, they've shaken off lazy comparisons to bands such as Radiohead, they've not allowed the stories to take them over and they have managed to create a debut album that manages to stand up for itself. Hope of the States will want to stick around a little longer yet.

• www.hopeofthestates.com

Find related articles: debut album from, first impressions, hope of the states, deserved recognition, herlihy.