A fantastic album from a remarkable band.
Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Manchester Orchestra's centre of gravity is singer, songwriter and guitarist Andy Hull. Already the band sound extremely accomplished, something that becomes clear on the anthemic opener 'Wolves at Night'. With its epically sweeping guitars mixing with the melodic vocals I'm sure this song would be more than enough to send any crowd into a frenzy. 'Now that You're Home' heralds a similar intensity and controlled noise with moments of genuine angst fuelled misery.
'The Neighborhood is Bleeding' sees a swift change of pace as a loveable Death Cab for Cutie-esque song bursts forth, with bittersweet lyrics that nicely ice an already sumptuous cake. 'I Can Feel Your Pain' is a bare whisper of a song that's fragility works well with the song's laden theme of pain. 'Where Have You Been?' also holds what is now becoming Manchester Orchestra's trademark intensity, with a brooding piece filled with pounding drums and guitar hooks. For this reviewer a well-executed tune coupled with doom heavy and serious lyrics is really all it takes to win me over most of the time, and 'I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child' has certainly achieved that modest aim.
'I Can Barely Breathe' is another more guitar heavy song and features a line that can't help but have an emotional blow behind it: "if you knew I was dying would it change you?" There is real poetry here and it all seems so true that it hurts a little, but in a way that is more than worth it. In a word this album leaves me in AWE.