Manchester Orchestra – Mean Everything to Nothing
Album review by Brendan Monteiro
I first heard Manchester Orchestra during a film and the ‘larger than life’ cinema feel that their music possessed stuck with me until way after those final credits rolled. So without any prior knowledge of the band or their songs I decided to order a copy of their latest offering Mean Everything To Nothing,
The album starts off with a crescendo reminiscent to those accelerator sounds of old racing games, joined by jangly guitars and the the formidable voice of Andy Hull. The album’s opener The Only One sounds so full and vibrant, and seems crammed with so many unique sounds that don’t complicate it but rather make it just that more interesting.
Shake It Out is definitely my favourite on the Album and literally gave me goosebumps the first time I heard it. It’s one of those songs that just has it all, from the incredible musicianship, the gut-wrenching vocals and fervid lyrics that make ‘wearing your heart on your sleeve’ an understatement. This all culminates at 2:35 into the song, the drums fade, the music softens, the vocal’s mellow and lyrics just sweep you over ‘I felt the world begin To peel off all my skin And I felt the weight within Reveal the bigger mess That you can’t fix’. It’s moments like these that literally grab every heart string imaginable.
Other standout songs on the album are I’ve Got Friends, with it’s feverishly catchy melodies. In My Teeth and it’s underlying Nirvana feel that still strikes out with originality and the lament laden I Can Feel A Hot One. All the songs on the album gel really well with each other and make for a real audio journey that I have not had on any other records for a long time now, and it’s a record that has spent a great deal of time in my C.D player.
Most notably though is the whole cinema feel that I felt when I first heard them, all the sounds and words on this album are so immense and dramatic and somehow give the album a vintage feel like that of 8 mm films. All I can say is that if you have not heard of the Manchester Orchestra then you need to buy an album, check out their myspace or even look them up on youtube. I can guarantee that if your into good music you wont be disappointed.
Mean Everything To Nothing is out now through Favorite Gentlemen/Canvasback Recordings.
This post is tagged Manchester Orchestra, Mean Everything to Nothing
