Left

Hope Of The States deserve their ambitious name

The indie rock band Hope Of The States appeared in Chichester in West Sussex, England and consisted of several musicians: front singer and guitarist Sam Herlihy, guitarist Anthony Theaker, guitarist James Lawrence, Mike Siddell, a master of violin and drummer Simon Jones. The guys took their name from Albert Deutsch's controversial book of 1948 The Shame of the States. Their first successful single Black Dollar Bills was released in summer 2003 and brought them the fame of rockers singing about beauty, despair and hope. In January 2004 an awful event happened – guitarist James Lawrence committed suicide. The band however did not fall into despair but on the contrary began to work twice harder than before. The result of those efforts came out already in October 2004 as a very emotionally powerful album The Lost Riots. It took Hope Of The States two years to gather energies and issue the new record Left. With this creation the guys once again proved that they deserve their ambitious name. Left is an incredibly impressive and inspiring album with new powerful songs filled with hope for the world’s better days to come soon.

Left covers many topical issues

Hope Of The States have raised many topical issues on Left – politics, war in Iraq, government and unemployment, but they don’t prevail over the genius music and the brilliant vocals of the front singer. The opening track Seconds impresses with the variety of instruments used: guitar, violin, drums and even a music box. Blood Meridian, which was released as a single in April 2006, is an emotional track with a catchy melody. Another great song Sing It Out most of all reveals the front singer’s talent for his singing here is really impressive. The track Bonfires is sure to become one of your favorite songs for an unusual variety of pitch levels as well as The Good Fight, a light and pleasant rock. The cover song Left is remarkable for the bassist’s brilliant performance and Little Silver Birds has a chance to become a new top single because of the catchy melody and another outstanding vocal part. The melancholic track January is devoted to James Lawrence for the band does not forget its friend. The impetuous and energetic Forwardirektion contrasts greatly with the final lyrical song The Church Choir closing this majestic album with a hopeful note.

Hope Of The States keep up with the times

Hope Of The States is a band of clever, talented and full of energy young people who know exactly how a top quality rock should sound. With their sophomore effort they have made a grandest step ahead and confirmed their name once again. The new songs are more inspiring, more complicated and emotionalizing than those from the previous album. Using a vast variety of musical instruments and combining them with Sam Herlihy’s outstanding vocals Hope Of The States satisfies the tastes of different people of the widest range of age, interests, occupations and educational background. The topics selected for Left are all up to date which is a sign of the guys’ striving for keeping up with the times. From the texts of Hope Of The States songs it is clear that they are optimistic about all the worlds troubles though today the situation is far from being satisfactory. The music they compose can touch anyone deep in the heart and make one think about everything a little bit more seriously. The band has tried its best working at the new record, due to them we now have Left – a good means against any kind of depression for its positive mood can inspire the most desperate and present them with the invaluable hope.