Chris Fallon
04/15/09, 05:34 PM
Hotel Ahead - Spend the Weekend
Record Label: Unsigned
Release Date: September 2, 2008
Who?
Illinois is a breeding ground for rock bands, and while Hotel Ahead conjures up a Midwestern emo sound comparable to early Jimmy Eat World, The Early November & the Get Up Kids, they are most definitely based in the pop realm. The two-man band dabbles in late-90's emo, early-milennium indie rock and even pulls up some mild alt-country influences. Yeah, it's got all of that and now I have your attention.
How is it?
Spend the Weekend has its bright spots and its dull moments. Matt Murray has that distinctive lull of roughneck rocker and emo crooner, somewhere in-between Ace Enders and Robb MacLean; it contains some melancholy beauty and soulful flair. That's a huge plus, because that similarity opens up an easy-going sound that we don't often get anymore, remaining vague in content without galloping through a field of cliches. The title track sounds like an acoustic Matt Pryor cut, "Look Back and Laugh" is a galliant sun-soaked effort and "Friday Nights" rolls off the tongue with exceptional ease. "Best Friends Love" and "Figure Me Out" provide some riffs that hit hard, setting off a decent-sized bolt of bearable hooks. Murray and Colin Wright let the guitars go the talking with country-jamboree rockers like "Days in the Sun," a theme for any hammock-lounger with a knack for big indie pop-rock.
As for the dull aspects, the one big complaint is that you can't help but anticipate the big Keanu Reeves says "whoa" type moment, where Hotel Ahead just rips into something unbelievable. "Hour or Two" comes close, with its pulsing drum beat, but never truly takes off, riding one wave for almost three minutes. Yet... that one big "whoa" moment? That time never comes, and none of the 11 tracks manage to fully grab one's attention in a supreme way. It just doesn't happen, and that's ultimately the handicap. "Stay Inside" strives to be an experience, and despite some worthy percussion work, it barely gets going before it's over. This same problem happens with the nearly unlistenable "Carefree," which is somewhere along the lines of a bad Days Away demo and Blaqk Audio (AFI's side project): it's just too slow and different from everything that precedes it, and throws the idealistic sound way off -- thankfully it's the last track. "One Thing (You Don't Know)" actually stumbles with some off-key singing and "We Speak" has Murray reaching for notes that he can't fully hit. Give him credit for trying, as he resembles early Matt Pryor with that effort, but it's far too distracting throughout the latter half of the record.
Still, you can't hold that against Murray and Wright too much -- after all, they are both young and this is the band's first release. With a producer of Ed Rose stature guiding them along, their next album could be a huge success. The good stuff here is still quite good -- it just lacks focus and with some guidence, Hotel Ahead could take off quickly. It's only a matter of time before Hotel Ahead writes their own Clarity or Let Me Come Home -- they just need to continue finding their sound and making it their very own.
The Early November doing jumping jacks with pre-Clarity Jimmy Eat World; Good Old War running through the woods with Limbeck; Huh?! Matt Pryor!"Days in the Sun," "Look Back and Laugh" and "Hour or Two"
1. Spend the Weekend
2. Look Back and Laugh
3. Hour or Two
4. Days in the Sun
5. One Thing (You Don't Know)
6. Figure Me Out
7. Best Friends Love
8. We Speak
9. Stay Inside
10. Friday Nights
11. CarefreeMatt Murray: vocals/guitar
Colin Wright: guitar
*note: there were member changes before the record was released, however information on who provided bass/drum duties is unknown at this time.
Official Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/hotelahead)Amazon MP3 (http://www.amazon.com/Spend-the-Weekend/dp/B001H04ACG/ref=sr_f3_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1239790949&sr=103-1)
Record Label: Unsigned
Release Date: September 2, 2008
Who?
Illinois is a breeding ground for rock bands, and while Hotel Ahead conjures up a Midwestern emo sound comparable to early Jimmy Eat World, The Early November & the Get Up Kids, they are most definitely based in the pop realm. The two-man band dabbles in late-90's emo, early-milennium indie rock and even pulls up some mild alt-country influences. Yeah, it's got all of that and now I have your attention.
How is it?
Spend the Weekend has its bright spots and its dull moments. Matt Murray has that distinctive lull of roughneck rocker and emo crooner, somewhere in-between Ace Enders and Robb MacLean; it contains some melancholy beauty and soulful flair. That's a huge plus, because that similarity opens up an easy-going sound that we don't often get anymore, remaining vague in content without galloping through a field of cliches. The title track sounds like an acoustic Matt Pryor cut, "Look Back and Laugh" is a galliant sun-soaked effort and "Friday Nights" rolls off the tongue with exceptional ease. "Best Friends Love" and "Figure Me Out" provide some riffs that hit hard, setting off a decent-sized bolt of bearable hooks. Murray and Colin Wright let the guitars go the talking with country-jamboree rockers like "Days in the Sun," a theme for any hammock-lounger with a knack for big indie pop-rock.
As for the dull aspects, the one big complaint is that you can't help but anticipate the big Keanu Reeves says "whoa" type moment, where Hotel Ahead just rips into something unbelievable. "Hour or Two" comes close, with its pulsing drum beat, but never truly takes off, riding one wave for almost three minutes. Yet... that one big "whoa" moment? That time never comes, and none of the 11 tracks manage to fully grab one's attention in a supreme way. It just doesn't happen, and that's ultimately the handicap. "Stay Inside" strives to be an experience, and despite some worthy percussion work, it barely gets going before it's over. This same problem happens with the nearly unlistenable "Carefree," which is somewhere along the lines of a bad Days Away demo and Blaqk Audio (AFI's side project): it's just too slow and different from everything that precedes it, and throws the idealistic sound way off -- thankfully it's the last track. "One Thing (You Don't Know)" actually stumbles with some off-key singing and "We Speak" has Murray reaching for notes that he can't fully hit. Give him credit for trying, as he resembles early Matt Pryor with that effort, but it's far too distracting throughout the latter half of the record.
Still, you can't hold that against Murray and Wright too much -- after all, they are both young and this is the band's first release. With a producer of Ed Rose stature guiding them along, their next album could be a huge success. The good stuff here is still quite good -- it just lacks focus and with some guidence, Hotel Ahead could take off quickly. It's only a matter of time before Hotel Ahead writes their own Clarity or Let Me Come Home -- they just need to continue finding their sound and making it their very own.
The Early November doing jumping jacks with pre-Clarity Jimmy Eat World; Good Old War running through the woods with Limbeck; Huh?! Matt Pryor!"Days in the Sun," "Look Back and Laugh" and "Hour or Two"
1. Spend the Weekend
2. Look Back and Laugh
3. Hour or Two
4. Days in the Sun
5. One Thing (You Don't Know)
6. Figure Me Out
7. Best Friends Love
8. We Speak
9. Stay Inside
10. Friday Nights
11. CarefreeMatt Murray: vocals/guitar
Colin Wright: guitar
*note: there were member changes before the record was released, however information on who provided bass/drum duties is unknown at this time.
Official Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/hotelahead)Amazon MP3 (http://www.amazon.com/Spend-the-Weekend/dp/B001H04ACG/ref=sr_f3_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1239790949&sr=103-1)