At first listen, Manchester United was what I had been looking for, lately, out of an indie band. It seems there are too many droll voiced groups relying on sparse instrumentation these days, and the entire indie "movement" has really become a bunch of copycats. Granted, I'm a little turned off by the scene right now, so my head full of steam is most likely a bit aggressive. There are plenty of groups/artists that can take the simple and under-produced sound and make it go for miles - see any M Ward production for proof. But even a great thing gets old if you hear it too much.
Enter a relatively new rock group from Atlanta. What really got my attention was the voice of lead singer Andy Hull, who was (for the most part) a vast departure from what I had begun to get accustomed to. This is a band that loves to build upon a basic melody and end their songs with guitars crunching and cymbals crashing, as in the stand-out track "I've Got Friends." In this way they are very similar to Silversun Pickups; one could even venture that the distorted vibe of the guitars could be a kissing cousin to the aforementioned. But I feel this band is best described as a mix between the angst of Lovedrug and the playful storytelling of The Format. Hull even has the desperate voice of Lovedrug's Michael Shepard; and much as it does the same for Shepard, it brings a sense of urgency to the Manchester Orchestra songs.
Meaning Everything To Nothing is not a perfect album. Manchester Orchestra sometimes gets lost in their anything-but-formulaic ways and it can bring an unnecessary weight to songs that are already bogged down by somewhat drab melodies/lyrics. Overall, though, this is a good album to dive into if you are looking to move on from your Conor Oberst melancholy mood for a while.
Best Tracks: Shake It Out, I've Got Friends, I Can Feel A Hot One
Rating: Shuffle Songs
Will purchase and try.. what would you say it sounds like?
ReplyDeleteYour subconscious soccer love caused a typo here buddy
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