Hope Of The States
Lost Riots
Release Date: Oct 5, 2004
Genre(s): Rock, Alternative
Record label: Sony
Music Critic Score
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Album Review: Lost Riots by Hope Of The States
Fairly Good, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 9/10
Hope of the States lost one of their best friends during the recording of The Lost Riots. They could have given it all up to mourn the loss of founding guitarist James Lawrence, but their dedication to one another and to their music could not be disregarded. The majestic soundscape that is The Lost Riots honors the band's personal bond and cherishes the memory of their late friend, but that's merely a stepping stone.
Based on rating 2/5
Not sure about their publicist's claim about Hope of the States "signposting a way forward"; large chunks of this debut album sound like an elongated, more grandiose Coldplay for comfort. Many of the songs are built on a slow, plonking piano figure that gets buried under a shuddering orchestral climax - for instance, the shrieking Bernard Herrmann violins on Me Ves y Sufres. At least the band aren't afraid to think big, and there is a succession of soaring, sombre structures that once would have been described as "pomp".