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Album Details

• Artist: Hope Of The States
• Album: The Lost Riots
• Label: Sony
• Year of Release: 2004
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2005-02-01

Hope of the States has been labeled as important by the UK press. My question is why? In one bio of theirs I heard someone talking about how they didn't want to be like other Brit bands and that their sound was very post-Radiohead (yeah, because their not important anymore). What they forgot to mention is the huge influence I hear of Afghan Whigs. One big difference is that Greg Dulli can sing. I really can't hear many merits in Sam Herlihy's singing style but do hear a big similarity to Dulli. It's hard to slam a band who's guitarist (James Lawrence) just committed suicide but when you hear this album you might understand. It is depressing. For instance, could "Me Ves Y Sufres" drone on for much longer? The songs are quite orchestral, almost too big for a debut album. There is so much going on that Herlihy's vocals can be nothing but a letdown. One track that I really felt had potential is "Nehemiah". It is one of the sunnier tracks on The Lost Riots. Bottom line, The Lost Riots is actually a bigger disappointment than Starsailor's critically acclaimed debut for me. Along the same lines but a little more boring.

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