Manchester Orchestra’s Mean Everything To Nothing was one of my favourite albums of 2009. I remember listening to its raw power over and over while cruising around town. I fully expected Simple Math would roar with the same intensity.
It didn’t take long before I realized that Simple Math was a different bag of tricks. Andy Hull (vocalist) took a more melodic, delicate approach to many of the songs. It certainly adds a new dimension to the band, with a greater use of strings making a much fuller sound.
Simple Math is a concept album, telling a story from his own perspective. "It's a story about a 23-year old who questions everything from marriage to love to religion to sex,” according to Hull. Although strange, I feel this paradigm does make the album more focused.
Manchester Orchestra has received almost universal praise for Simple Math. That said, many critics have suggested that Manchester Orchestra is a band still in transition, still searching for their “sound”. I tend to agree. Yet, I would argue that if said “sound” was found, they might not be quite as compelling!
Manchester Orchestra on MySpace
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