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Manchester Orchestra - COPE and HOPE

In Apr. 2014, Atlanta-based indie rock band Manchester Orchestra released their fourth studio album, COPE, in my opinion an altogether decent album with a couple of outstanding tracks which suffered from poor sound engineering and a general feeling that many of the songs sound the same. However, while the album as a whole may not deliver something amazing, some of the individual tracks are definitely worth listening to.

“Every Stone,” one of the album’s most successful songs, is quick-tempoed, with catchy vocal melodies and subdued verses juxtaposed with an energetic chorus. “Girl Harbor” has similar qualities, but is slower in tempo, and the melody that comprises the chorus and runs throughout most of the verses is one of the catchiest on the album.

Five months after the release of this album, in September 2014, Manchester Orchestra released HOPE, an acoustic reimagining of all of the songs on COPE. These new versions shed light on aspects of the songs that may have gone unnoticed at first and provide the listener with a new and interesting perspective on the songs that they already know, and the results are often beautiful.

“Girl Harbor” replaces electric guitars with acoustic ones for its beautifully understated instrumentation. The new version of “Every Stone” is an experience to listen to, with the most emotional vocal performance of the two albums and an instrumentation that grows more and more grandiose as the song goes on, adding trumpets and layers of strings onto the distorted electric piano that makes up the core of the song.

Hozier - Hozier

If you’ve gotten tired of hearing “Take me to Church” non-stop, you should listen to Hozier’s self-titled album and discover that as good as that song is (or was?), Hozier has even more to offer than that.

“Jackie and Wilson” is an upbeat rock song with a driving guitar, a soulful vocal performance, and a chorus that can stick in your head for hours. “From Eden” is a more chill, more laid back song that listeners who only know Hozier for “Take me to Church” will be (pleasantly) surprised by. “Cherry Wine” ends the album beautifully, with sublime guitar work and understaded vocals combining to produce a song that proves that Hozier is more than just “Take me to Church.”