Well, here’s an odd one. Hope
of the States, through any sound application of logic, suck. The singer can’t sing. The band members can all play, but they can’t
play together. It’s a bloody mess, truth
be told. The first time I heard it (again,
via my Dad, #4) I was appalled. How can
a band get away with being this bad?
Yet, a few listens, and Hope of
the States’ disconnected noise finds a home in your head. They don’t sound like anyone else, to be
sure. I guess they are indie (not too heavy
rock with strings and the like), but in truth it is impossible to categorise
them. They are simply Hope of the States. And they are bloody amazing. I saw about half their set at V (had to leave
for Muse), and more than two thirds
of the crowd walked out before the first song was finished. An acquired taste, no doubt. A diamond in (a large amount) of rough. Let your inner head scrub this album and
somehow it shines brighter than most.
The most bizarre band of 2004.
Because by rights they should never have even got a record deal, and yet
they rule.