Ex-Hope Of The States Members Form Palace

Eighteen months ago, my beloved HOTS called it a day.

Since then, half of the band has begun work a new project.

The result is Palace.

Sample three demo tunes at their MySpace page.

MP3: HOTS - Enemies/Friends [alt link]

Hope Of The States: That's all, folks!

Sad news to wake up to.

Sure, there were rumors but I was hoping they weren't true.

Sigh.

NME's got all the dirt and the official band statement.

Review: Hope Of The States, Left

I wanted to love this album. I really did. I absolutely was floored by their last full-length, The Lost Riots. It was the perfect combination of early Verve, Sigur Ros and Parachutes-era Coldplay. It was heavenly, powerful, and emotional. I was craving the second release so badly that I even ordered it imported from the UK for 30 bucks!

Left takes a similar, yet different approach. It's certainly not as immediate as TLR. There are potentially more 'hooks' on this album but ultimately doesn't make as bold a statement as the debut. There are a few highlights though, such as the first single 'Sing It Out'. The gorgeous video is below. Another standout track is the title track. The video for that tune is available on their official site.



More reviews here (via MetaCritic). Sadly, they are not too positive.

Hope Of The States Re-Appear

Yes, I was shocked too!

Not only are they back, but they currently have the #1 song on NME's chart!! The Lost Riots was one of my favorite albums from a few years back. It was the perfect blend of Urban Hymns-Verve, Aegetis-Sigur Ros, and Ladies and Gentlemen-Spritualized. Inotherwords, it was underrated genius (well, at least here in the States, ironically enough).

They only made ONE lone trip to NYC in support of Riots and somehow I missed it. I'll never forgive myself for this omission. Stupid stupid stupid! I think it was during CMJ and I had planned go to 3 other shows that night. Sigh. For those of you headed to the Reading Festival, their tour schedule shows a date on the NME stage. Lucky bastards.

Upon a little research it seems like their second release, LEFT, will be officially out on June 19. Something tells me I'm going to have to cough it up and get this one as an import, as a US release date seems unlikely. Tracklisting will go like this: Seconds, Blood Meridian, Sing It Out, Bonfires, The Good Fight, Left, Industry, This Is A Question, Little Silver Birds, Four, January, Forwardirektion:, The Church Choir

UK-ers who have heard bits of the new album, whatcha think of it?