Released on Favorite Gentlemen Recordings, 27/4/09
What’s this? Another Manchester band, full of smug, self-righteous gits just waiting to rip off one of the greatest bands ever? Well, not quite. The Manchester Orchestra aren’t even from Manchester – they’re from Atlanta, Georgia, and they are named so because of the lead singers love for all things Morrissey and The Smiths. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Only they sound nothing like The Smiths.
Most of us remember our final year of school being stressful, not much fun, and sometimes utterly pointless. Imagine if you were instead home schooled that year, just so you could focus on writing music. Sounds pretty fucking sweet, doesn’t it? That’s exactly what happened to TMO singer Andy Hull, who was spotted early on by industry types. Lucky bastard. While the rest of us were knee-deep in trigonometry and MDF, he was plucking a guitar and writing songs. Whatever he did, it’s certainly worked for him, as a few years later he’s got an album, Mean Everything to Nothing, that is rather fucking good.
The Manchetser Orchestra certainly have a raw, menacing sound. But Mean Everything To Nothing isn’t just moody and powerful. It’s also something of a concept album, as the first 6 tracks are recorded seamlessly into each other, not giving you a chance to come up for air once. It drags you down beneath the surface. But it’s not murky. Opening song The Only One is no indication of things to come at all. It’s a fine slice of pop-rock pie, but the meat comes later on. If anything, the first song sounds a little like a serious McFly (gasp) without the shit lyrics. But then Shake It Out kicks in, and things are on the up. Andy Hull at times howls like Cobain incarnate, before giving way to a gentle, cathartic sigh.
I’ve Got Friends begins like something The Beta Band never wrote, before degenerating into a primitive blast, switching between the loud/quiet parts with ease. This song in particular is like Feeder on a dose of barbiturates. It’s a good choice for a single, as it sums up everything this band can do in one song. But then it’s followed by Pride, which could easily have fit on In Utero. The whole song just reeks of anguish. It’s incredibly morose, but incredible nonetheless. Maybe that year off of school wasn’t as blissful as we expected. In My Teeth isn’t as down, more akin to a Foo Fighters romp. It’s pretty damn enjoyable, in fact. 100 Dollars slows everything right down, until Hull’s holler emerges once more. At times you wonder if it is the same person singing all the time.
Then the album shifts, as if the thunder clouds suddenly dissipated and a tiny ray of sunshine peeked through the gloom. I Can Feel A Hot One shifts from the guitar assault to beautiful melodies. It’s no wonder this was featured on American TV show Gossip Girl; it’s remarkably fresh sounding and suited for emotive scenes. I seriously have to check my Myspace page hasn’t suddenly switched to a different artist. You compare this song and Pride, and the difference is just startling. My Friend Marcus regains some bite, but only the bite of a goldfish compared to the earlier piranha attack. For some reason it reminds me of Grandaddy. Oddly there’s a song called Tony The Tiger, which isn’t grrrrrrrrrreat, but still good, having a Weezer feel to it. But there are serious problems if Everything To Nothing can’t get radio play, as it’s a very decent song that outshines any crap you’ll find on Kerrang or Xfm. You think that would have been the perfect song to end the album on, but The River comes and washes that away. It’s their most epic song, and it’s brilliantly done.
To adapt an old football saying, it’s an album of two halves. It’s the musical equivalent of Harvey Dent. It honestly is completely different. I really enjoyed listening to it; it is nice to hear something that’s bold enough to be different, as well as a band who are able to perform two different genres of music seemingly at will. The only worry is that some listeners may only like one half of the album, and not the other half. But if you can accept it in its entirety, you may just take great pleasure from it.
Posted In Album Reviews, Apr 29 2009.
Words - Paul