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Manchester Orchestra
Being a prodigy takes up all your time. Just a high school junior, singer Andy Hull's songs were attracting attention. So the Atlanta native was home schooled his senior year so he could focus on writing and recording.
Hull put together a band in '05 that recorded "Nobody Sings Anymore." This set was never officially released largely because the band had changed musical direction. That also necessitated a name change to Manchester Orchestra.
Some songs from "Nobody Sings Anymore" we re-worked for the '05 EP "You Brainstorm, I Brainstorm, But Brilliance Needs A Good Editor."
The following year saw the group's full-length debut "I'm Like A Virgin Losing A Child." A second EP, '08's "Let My Pride Be What's Left Behind," rolled out with the track "I Can Feel A Hot One" which was heard during a episode of Gossip Girl.
Returning to the studio with producer Joe Chicarrelli (The Shins, My Morning Jacket), Manchester Orchestra recorded '09 album "Mean Everything To Nothing."
"I've Got Friends" and "Shake It Out" landed on the Billboard Alternative Songs Chart, peaking at #8 and #25, respectively.
Manchester Orchestra partnered with Kevin Devine, a songwriter and musician from Brooklyn, for a split EP. Then the group and Devine, working under the name Bad Books, issued their self-titled debut in '10.
"Simple Math," recorded in Nashville and Atlanta, was Manchester Orchestra's third full-length release.
Albums:
2006 I'm Like A Virgin Losing A Child
2009 Mean Everything To Nothing
2011 Simple Math
EPs:
2004 5 Stories
2005 You Brainstorm, I Brainstorm, but Brilliance Needs a Good Editor
2008 Let My Pride Be What's Left Behind
2009 Fourteen Years of Excellence
2009 The MySpace Transmissions: Manchester Orchestra
2009 Live at Park Ave
2010 I Could Be The Only One
Hull and company are an effective post-Punk power-pop outfit. They, and approximately, 5,234,765 other bands are vying for everyone's attention.
So what makes Manchester Orchestra special? Simply, it's swagger, spiraling chord progressions and some good old Punk grind.
From "Like A Virgin Losing A Child" there's the dark-pop of "Wolves At Night" and the reckless swagger of "The Neighborhood Is Bleeding." "Golden Ticket" and the Punk "Alice And Interiors" also hit the mark. The ballads are forlorn but the intense "Where Have You Been" is a cut above.
Clearly, "Mean Everything To Nothing" is superior to "Like A Virgin Losing A Child." The former limits the wayward confessional ballads (thankfully) and plays to the group's strengths. "I Can Feel A Hot One" is a recklessly splendid ballad. Still, the uptempo tracks, "The Only One," "Shake It Out," and "Tony The Tiger" (which has nothing to do with the Frosted Flakes icon), are the big news here.
"Simple Math" takes Prog Rock turns but often forgets the Rock part - nearly half the tracks are ballads. "Virgin" goes dramatic while "April Fool" is moody. "Mighty" and "Pensacola," with its play on the word 'credit', offer some needed relief.