Hope & Social

Hope & Social

Group from United Kingdom

About Hope & Social

A UK based band formerly known as Four Day Hombre. Debut album "Architect of this Church" released in June 2009 on a pay-what-you-want basis http://www.alamomusic.co.uk/architect/default.asp Simon Wainwright – Vocals/Guitars/Piano Rich Huxley – Guitars/Vocals/Piano/Rhodes Ed Waring – Keyboards Jason Miller - Bass www.hopeandsocial.com Life, for Hope&Social, started one drunken night in the Grove pub in Leeds in April 2007; a place indicative of modern England: a traditional pub hemmed in on all sides by Leeds’ garish glass giants and the cement palaces of new-wealth. Hope&Social wanted to create something to reflect this, something more than just a set of songs but a statement on English culture. Singer Simon Wainwright reflects: “We wanted to make an album that was important. An album that wasn’t just another set of love songs, but about the state of our lives and our homes; about our communities. We talked about Springsteen and his biography of his American home. We talked of Arcade Fire. We talked about Astral Weeks. We talked of Bowie. We talked about making something that matters.” Time for change. Hope&Social wanted to the sound of the classic albums of 3 decades ago, but positioned against a modern backdrop. A suitably classic sound for songs which are part call-to-arms, part lament. Dark but exalted tracks penned with brutal but measured guitars and lush vocal harmonies. Add in an ancient ‘knees-up’ piano and a ‘73 Rhodes, and you are only getting close. A desire to keep the recording as live as possible and capture the magic of the writing process on tape led the band to the immediate ambiance of a church crypt in deepest West Yorkshire. The sound is lush, brooding and celebratory: ‘Sieved from the malaise of many a drunken rant we had some kind of idea of what we wanted to talk about: of Englishness and home and what it means to we five. Of simplicity and customs, and of God. ‘If it feels good turn it up’ / Fender Champ / a long list of drum fills / a child’s accordion… All these things were thrown in the pot and we melded a selection of songs that I have never felt so excited about. They are real and they are us.’

Taken from Last.fm

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