Mojo

HOPE OF THE STATES' career was all but too short. Formed in 2000 and born out of an early post-rock influence heard on earlier EP's and demo recordings their official web-site describes their sound as sitting "somewhere between the intelligent, intense alternative rock of Radiohead and the expansive string-laden post-rock of Godspeed You! Black Emperor."



Their debut album very nearly didn't see the light of day after guitarist Jimmi Lawrence was found dead by his band mates, hanging in Peter Gabriel's Real World studio's where sessions for THE LOST RIOTS were held. Thankfully, after a delay, it was finished and released in 2004. The post-rock influence in the bands earlier days is all but too clear in the immense opening instrumental track "THE BLACK AMNESIAS" (link at the bottom of the post) before the more traditional indie starts to bleed through into the recording. However, the album succeeds in creating an ambience, an atmosphere and at times a climax of hazy, driving guitar work, piano and strings with some long, impressive instrumental sections.




Their second album, released two years later in many ways signalled the end. After the magnificent "BLOOD MERIDIAN" EP that preceeded it, "LEFT" was a major let down in my opinion. Completely gone were the post-rock influences that drove the first record, the singles sounded much more streamlined for the commercial audience than they had previously and whereas the album has some great, intelligently crafted material it just doesnt have a patch on the power and the sheer beauty of the first record.

Just two months after the albums release in August 2006 the band officially parted and went on to other projects. The legacy they left behind could be viewed as being tarnished somewhat by the disappointing second full length but the debut remains one of my favourites and hopefully always will. Always something I can put on to relax to and when coupled with some of the EP's and demo's it's a little more of a impressive legacy than maybe some would realise.


BLACK DOLLAR BILLS (THE LOST RIOTS) (2004)



ENEMIES/FRIENDS (THE LOST RIOTS) (2004)





Welcome to the Halfway Home - HOTS Official web-site
MySpace.com - Hope Of The States Official - UK - Indie / Rock - www.myspace.com/hopeofthestatesofficial
Hope of the States – The Black Amnesias – Listen free and discover music at Last.fm

Sneer

i ****ING love this band, good call. So underrated, The Lost riots in particular is excellent

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Mojo

The Lost Riots is epic. I may have made Left sound worse than it actually is as it was decent, it just wasn't what I had hoped it would be at all. Disappointing coming off the back of the debut but not terrible by any means. It makes me sad that I never saw this band live.

jackhammer

Sounds a little derivative but I'm open to recieving a PM

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Piss Me Off

I remember the incredible amount of hype that surrounded The Lost Riots at the time and it was never going to live up to it all, but it's a solid album all in all, some great singles on it. Never got round to Left.

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Mojo

Go on then, you twisted my arm. Actually, Agalloch twisted my arm. That was some good stuff.

I'll get on it later today.

Urban Hat€monger ?

I quite liked them when I first heard the debut album. But by the time the 2nd album came out every band and their mother was releasing stuff like this and I never really listened to them since.

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Mojo

Yeah I guess thats true. Their first album certainly stuck with me though, from the first time I listened to it.

Demonoid

I wouldn't mind giving this a listen. Any chance of a PM?

Alfred

^this

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