This year has seen a new renaissance of Britrock and amongst the spiky post-punk of bands such as Franz Ferdinand and Razorlight and the searing ballads of Keane and Snow Patrol, Hope of the States provide an original and epic voice. They are purveyors of big brave music. It is a brave move to open their debut album with an instrumental track which almost verges into prog, and even braver to open their set at the New Tent with the same, but the swollen crowd were entranced by the intensity of the music and from then on were a captive audience.
The set consisted mainly of songs from the album, ‘The Lost Riots’, with some new material, and encompassed the grandiose melancholia of the Smashing Pumpkins, rousing battle-like drum beats, heart warming lyrics and some folksy rhythm courtesy of the accoustic guitar and fiddle. The raw vocals added vulnerability to the grandeur of the music. It seemed many of the crowd had heard of Hope of the States, maybe through the music press or word of mouth, but not actually heard their music. Despite the complexity of the music, which consists of layer upon layer of independent, intricate elements woven into a rich and elaborate fabric of sound, the melodic strength of songs such as ‘Enemies/Friends’, ‘The Red The White The Black The Blue’, and the stirring, anthemic ‘Nehemiah’, made the performance feel familiar and the music accessible. If the majority of the audience were there by recommendation, their highest expectations must certainly have been fulfilled.
In Saturday’s ‘Q Daily’, the band excitedly revealed their plans for the visual element of the show - and lo and behold, on the ceiling of the tent above the stage were projected choreographed images, mainly of the mechanisms of war – tanks, planes, towers – which were balletic and mesmerising and added yet another dimension to the Hope of the States experience. Hope of the States have vision which takes them beyond the New Tent and beyond other bands gracing the smaller slots at the festival.
This band has had a particularly difficult year and it seems their troubles are still very much at the forefront. Singer Samuel Herlihy concluded the set with heartfelt thanks, saying we could not know how much it all meant to them. I can only hope that the tremendous response they evoke will give this band the strength to continue making magnificent, multifaceted music to touch the soul.
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