The Hotelier – “Home, Like Noplace There Is”

 

This may be too early to declare, but this album could possibly be my pick for the 2014 Album of the Year. Unless La Dispute’s new release lives up to expectations, I cannot see a 2014 release being as good as this album. 

The Hotelier began life as The Hotel Year back in the later stages of the aughts. After releasing a demo in 2009 and a pretty overlooked debut album in 2011, The Hotel Year decided to release their second studio LP under a new monicker. “Home, Like Noplace There Is” shows an emo band knowing what they’re doing. Each song is beautifully composed musically AND lyrically, setting a new standard for emo bands from here on out. Every song on the album is extremely well done, but I want to dedicate this review to the track “Your Deep Rest.”

“Your Deep Rest” was the first song I heard off of this album. Never before have I pre-ordered an album AND a tshirt after only hearing one track. “Your Deep Rest” depicts a funeral in which the speaker is attending. This funeral is of a friend of the speaker who committed suicide. The track starts off with some light, kind of poppy guitar riffs into the first verse. The lyrics in the first verse describe seeing someone with depression from the outside.

The first verse leads beautifully into the chorus. Under light guitar chords, the singer emotionally sings “I called in sick from your funeral. The sight of your body made me feel uncomfortable. I couldn’t recognize your shell.” This track is a lyrical masterpiece about knowing someone struggling with depression who eventually takes their own life. The song ends with the singer proclaiming “You said ‘remember me for me.’ I watched you set  your spirit free.”

Grade: 10/10

Tracks to Check Out: Your Deep Rest, obviously. Also, Housebroken is a heart-wrenching song from the point of view of an abused dog that still loves its family.

Death of Lovers – “Buried Under a World of Roses”

Many of you may have no idea who this band is, but I assure you that you’ll want to know very soon. Death of Lovers came to fruition due to the friendship between bands Whirr and Nothing. Whirr had my favorite EP of 2013, so I was excited to see some of the members doing other music. When I first learned about Death of Lovers, I was expecting a shoegaze masterpiece along the lines of My Bloody Valentine or Slowdive. Instead, I got a lot more than I expected.

The EP starts off with a chilling, modern-goth-rock track entitled “Cold Heaven.” The instrumentation and the vocals channel Bauhaus almost exclusively, which is something I haven’t heard since Bauhaus. The dark, chillwave-esque sound makes for a good introduction to this album.

Moving further into the album, the darkwave influences from bands like Bauhaus and The Cure are very apparent. Minor synthesizer textures can be heard in the background while shoegazey guitar riffs add to the atmosphere. The lead singer also adds a gorgeous element to this EP. His deep, dark voice properly mixed with effects creates a chilling ambience throughout each track.

Overall, this EP is wonderful. It harkens back to the days of 80’s darkwave music, which isn’t something that’s commonly done today. I’m very excited to see the direction this band decides to go in the future.

Grade 8.5/10

Tracks to Check Out: Cold Heaven. If you’re a fan of Bauhaus, you’ll love this track.