It is been a long time since I wrote a review. I guess I needed the right group to come along and inspire (kick up the ass) me. I’m going review some of the bands I have discovered on twitter in a series of reviews I am calling ‘#tweetbands” – an affront to originally, I know.
I’ll be frank, I don’t know if I have enough words in my dictionary to review music anymore, these days I’m all about torture and suffering (sadly not a Slipknot fan, though). I hope I do because I’ve found some amazing bands via social media. Talking of hope and social media, the first band I’m going to discuss is Hope & Social.
Instantly confronting me is the same problem I have with Belle and Sebastian/Belle & Sebastian, I don’t know if I should use ‘and’ or ‘&’ with this group.
I discovered Hope & Social via a tweet about ‘The Umbrella Project’ – an amazing collection of ‘soundwalks’ around York. Having read a little about that the project, I followed the @umbrellaproject. From that simple following, I ended up in a conversation with @SimonRalphGoff and then @TheHuxCapacitor.
Now, apparently, Hope and Social are already quite well-known, having performed twice at Glastonbury as finalists of some emerging talent contest. But I had never heard of them so they are a personal discovery.
If I had to describe the sounds of Hope & Social, I’d say they make N.IC.E music, which stands for Nice, Intellectually Charming & Enjoyable music. It is the sort of music that adds a spring to your step and puts the sun in the sky (even as you walk to the train station at 7am on a rainy Monday).
Best of all, you don’t have to trust a word I write about them, not one word. Wait for a rainy day, download one of their albums, I’d recommend April as a starting point, and start walking to work. Alternatively, sit in an art café, high on too many teas. Either way, it is good stuff.
You don’t even have to pay for it! Because these guys are suckers! They’re giving it away via Bandcamp. But they’re not really fools. They’re in it for the music and I think they have a better understanding of the industry than the big fish. Proponents of the ‘Pay What You Can’ model, they’re a recession-friendly band. In their words:
More details available in a special section of their website.
I like their style of music and I like their style of business. It means that the people can decide. It places the power in the ears of the people. This is anti-Simon Cowell stuff. You’re not being told to like it, you’re being given the chance.
Throughout this review, I’ve had April blazing away in my ear. I don’t know how they sound live, but I imagine that, given the right crowd, a Hope and Social gig would be a highlight.
Other albums for you to sample include Sleep Sound and Architect of this Church.
So will I give them any of my valuable money? Well, that would be telling. At the end of the day, they don’t need me write this blog post for them. They’re already critically acclaimed, including a very good reference from BBC 6Music! Enjoy!
I’ll be frank, I don’t know if I have enough words in my dictionary to review music anymore, these days I’m all about torture and suffering (sadly not a Slipknot fan, though). I hope I do because I’ve found some amazing bands via social media. Talking of hope and social media, the first band I’m going to discuss is Hope & Social.
Instantly confronting me is the same problem I have with Belle and Sebastian/Belle & Sebastian, I don’t know if I should use ‘and’ or ‘&’ with this group.
I discovered Hope & Social via a tweet about ‘The Umbrella Project’ – an amazing collection of ‘soundwalks’ around York. Having read a little about that the project, I followed the @umbrellaproject. From that simple following, I ended up in a conversation with @SimonRalphGoff and then @TheHuxCapacitor.
Now, apparently, Hope and Social are already quite well-known, having performed twice at Glastonbury as finalists of some emerging talent contest. But I had never heard of them so they are a personal discovery.
If I had to describe the sounds of Hope & Social, I’d say they make N.IC.E music, which stands for Nice, Intellectually Charming & Enjoyable music. It is the sort of music that adds a spring to your step and puts the sun in the sky (even as you walk to the train station at 7am on a rainy Monday).
Best of all, you don’t have to trust a word I write about them, not one word. Wait for a rainy day, download one of their albums, I’d recommend April as a starting point, and start walking to work. Alternatively, sit in an art café, high on too many teas. Either way, it is good stuff.
You don’t even have to pay for it! Because these guys are suckers! They’re giving it away via Bandcamp. But they’re not really fools. They’re in it for the music and I think they have a better understanding of the industry than the big fish. Proponents of the ‘Pay What You Can’ model, they’re a recession-friendly band. In their words:
We believe that the old fashioned record industry model is on its last legs. We believe that it’s better to sell direct to fans than via shops. We believe that we now exist in an environment where recorded music is essentially available for free and that environment is totally created by the laziness of the record industry and why fight that? If you want our music you are more than welcome to it. Please… take it, play it, give it to your friends. If you feel that the music we make has value to you then feel free to give us some money. If you do give us some money then you can do so safe in the knowledge that all that money goes to us.
More details available in a special section of their website.
I like their style of music and I like their style of business. It means that the people can decide. It places the power in the ears of the people. This is anti-Simon Cowell stuff. You’re not being told to like it, you’re being given the chance.
Throughout this review, I’ve had April blazing away in my ear. I don’t know how they sound live, but I imagine that, given the right crowd, a Hope and Social gig would be a highlight.
Other albums for you to sample include Sleep Sound and Architect of this Church.
So will I give them any of my valuable money? Well, that would be telling. At the end of the day, they don’t need me write this blog post for them. They’re already critically acclaimed, including a very good reference from BBC 6Music! Enjoy!
)