Customer Reviews

Goodbye to the Machine

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It has to be hard for a band to be dropped from their previous label which causes two of its members to bail, and to still release an album, all recorded in analog on cassette tapes. I believe Hurt has triumphed not only in releasing an album after getting thrown out on the street, but also in the diversity in their new sound. Gone are most of the heavy riffs but welcome are the melodic and and deep sounds. I think that it is great for a band to be evolving, especially in a world like this with pitiful bands like nickelback, hinder, saliva, etc... insert crappy band here. J. Loren is so talented that anything they release is amazing, and the only reason they got thrown out is because they are too creative and did not succumb to the power teet of the capitol records. end of story....

Big Fan of Hurt here. I gave the album 5 stars because it is in my opinion very very good, with a high level of musicianship, and different, and diverse, although I do not think the album is perfect (I like the hard songs to be a bit harder). But it is so different, and good in so many ways, that I do think it deserves 5 stars... despite some flaws. The best way I can describe it is that it is a perfectly flawed thing of majesty. And where it is excellent, it is better than any rock in this world, and where it is not excellent, it is still very good, and you just sort of feel that maybe you need to give it just a little more time.

What makes this undeniably Hurt is that "Goodbye to the Machine" really wraps itself around you, and this is just something unique to Hurt... Their music simply does not let go of you. For example Pills and Dreams Away have these great hooks, and are bordering on being pretty commercial in my opinion, but they are not necessarily so when you really listen to them and absorb them. Got Jealous and Role Martyr X and Fighting Tao, and even Wars and Well, are each outstanding in their own right. These are some really brilliant songs.

I just have this feeling that this will sit in my car or stereo for months, because I just think it is another outstanding entry in the Hurt catalogue. And I honestly believe I am going to need a few hundred more listens to fully appreciate this offering. Some might say you shouldn't have to listen to it so much to get that, but any real fan of Hurt knows what I mean. It just is that way. You invariably are moved more each time you listen.

Production quality is very good for analog, but I do prefer the more polished production that marked their previous efforts.

I recommend this album highly.

As a long time HURT fan I was of course a little skeptical when I heard J say they wanted to try a new sound. But after listening to this CD many times I have come to the conclusion that it is exactly what was needed. It has just enough of that original HURT sound from Vol. 1 and 2 to keep it familiar but branches off in so many different directions from there to keep it new and interesting. Why this band does not have a greater following is beyond me. As for the CD i can only whole-heartedly recommend it.!

Just discovered this band a year ago at a nightclub opening up for another band.. So impressed I bought every cd they made at the show. I was lucky enough to meet all members of the band and get signatures. This cd is awesome. No other way to describe it. They have their own sound, and its great!

If you are looking for a rock band with a different sound and thought provoking lyrics look no further. My adult son and I share the same taste in music though his does run to harder rock than I like. We began listening to Hurt with their first album and now own all of their stuff. We have each been to one of their shows and I must say the lead singer, J. Loren, is a humble man who always takes time out for his fans. The other band members are just as nice and willing to chat, sign autographs, take pix with fans. They intermesh rock music with orchestral music (J. Loren plays violin) which gives their songs a different, often haunting sound. Live, they put on a show that is well worth seeing. Their other CD's are titled; Re-Consumation, Volume I, Volume II and Goodbye to the Machine. All are different and well worth a listen.

Very nice mix of songs, and the more I listen to it the more I like it. The more rockin' tunes 'Wars' and 'Fighting Tao' are probably my highlights. However 'Dreams Away' and 'World Ain't Right' are other notables along with the more melodic 'Sweet Delilah'.

My only small critique being a fan of Vol I and Vol II the songs here don't blend as well, thus there's not that nice flow from track 1 to 12 its a little more disjointed. However I understand it was recorded in analog and here I am listening to the mp3, and not the LP. :)

On their 3rd album, HURT shines even brighter. This record is solid from the first to the last song. The beautiful thing about this cd is the diversity it has.

Lyrically it is top notch as well as musically. I am a huge fan of this band, and while I loved their first 2 cds, this CD surpasses them. To me, that was a difficult feat since Vol 1 and 2 are two of my favorite cds.

Some favorites on this disc would be Pandora, Dreams Away, That (Such a Thing), Pills and Fighting Tao.

Go pick it up or get it digitally. You won't be disappointed.

I was first drawn to Hurt when I heard Rapture on a compilation disc years ago. The band undoubtedly possesses a wealth of talent and have displayed such in their previous albums; vol. 1 & 2 respectively.

This album doesn't really present a different sound than their other albums, but rather a more average and less emotionally driven one. Absent are the soul grabbing screams and penetrating riffs that were so prominent on the previous albums.

I don't want people to think this is a poor album, because it's not. Songs like Wars, World Aint Right, and Well, are all great tracks, but the rest of the album lacks the passion and potency most have come to expect from Hurt.

An interesting note, the boys recorded the entire album in analog, rather than digitally, like so many bands today do. This means for all you die hards out there, a vinyl version is a strong possibility.

I've never written a review for a product like this before, and I really wanted to say some pertinent things in order to convince people why I liked the album, AND the band, so much. At the behest of the newly formed street team, I am doing for no other reward than the hopes that this will help somebody, SOMEWHERE, decide to buy the album.

Now, first I'd like to talk about the pre-cursors to this album. Not the Consummation/Re-Consummation CD, or even the Black Market EP (which I implore any fan of HURT or good music in general to buy. The live version of shallow and the acoustic tracks are worth the money ALONE, though I will say that one of HURT's more talented aspects comes in taking a song and making it sound not only as good acoustically, but BETTER than the original at times), but Vol. 1 (Special Package) and Vol. II.

The albums fit together like puzzle pieces. At times dark, macabre, but always honest and always passionate. The songs all tell stories. Any fan of one Vol. probably enjoyed the other just as much if not more. Reasons? The honest lyrics, the catchy and slightly unorthodox song writing style, the way the songs never quite end how the begin and how refreshing that is, and singer J. Loren's passionate, intense, emotion driven vocal styling; unique not because he TRIES to be, but because he simply...well...is.

I said that to say this: Goodbye to the Machine will cause a fan of those two albums, or even anybody skipping around and listening to songs from the albums, to stutter a bit. Fear not! Every element of HURT that makes them the artists they are remain. The lyrics are honest, but they touch on new, more expansive topics. The music is catch as hell, if not slightly more unorthodox. Like the other CD's, the music is simply and complicated all in one package. There are subtle intricacies that add to the music and keep it fresh each time you hear it without at all overloading you with too many instruments or track loops! And J.'s voice remains passionate as ever.

But the CD is different. It isn't in the line of Vol.'s and though HURT still resides very much in the music if not MORE so now, you have to approach this CD as you would approach the band themselves: with an open, eager mind. If you do that, you should find pleasure. Give the CD a listen front to back if you buy it. 30 minutes of your time. Relax. Enjoy. It's worth it.

Before I finish, some standout tracks:

Wars, the first single, is a good introduction to the band to a less diverse audience, i.e. one who goes for more radio catch songs, but does NOT really encompass what this CD is about. Its a good song with some mild heavy parts due to the passion in J's voice, but some of the songs like Sweet Delilah and That (Such a Thing) hold just as much impact with a whisper! The music is eclectic. Fighting Tao (which would also be very good for Radio, as well as an introduction to the band) even sports a nice violin solo at the end. Yes, this CD has violin. Distorted guitars and Violin.

Pills is, as well, a very soft song with a very honest message. It displays the simplicity Hurt can use while still grasping onto and releasing an emotion you might have long since slumbered.

Two songs that take some getting used to, however. Got Jealous, which is ambitious for no other reason than the slightly confusing chorus timing, takes a few listens to really enjoy the tempo change from verse to chorus, though doing so is well worth it. As well, 1331's verses make you feel like you are listening to some kind of dark, modernized barbershop singer. I love how the vocals are done in this song, and how oddly perfect the segue from verse to chorus hits you, but to some, it will also take a few listens.

Al in all, this album has me listening consistently, just as the other two STILL do. I highly recommend this album to fans of the band, people even remotely interested in trying something new, or for a gift for a friend who you know likes good, passionate music.

The first thing to know: if you hear a self-proclaimed HURTie pan the group for 'selling out' with Goodbye to the Machine, take it with a grain of salt. They have a new label, yes, but that was because Capitol Records dropped them without explanation. HURT has made the problems they've had with Capitol well known, so the move to Amusement can't be viewed as anything but a good thing.

The most common criticism will surely be that the quartet has gone more mainstream and dropped many of their darker elements with the latest. That is true to a degree, and the lone gripe I have for an amazing album. In my eyes, there are a couple of tracks that are simply far too generic and uninspired (Pills, Sweet Delilah). '1331' and 'That (Such a Thing)' will also likely draw their fair share of heat from fans of Vol's 1 and II.

The only defense for these offerings is that the group has a well known, for lack of a better term, 'mainstream acoustic' side that was going to manifest itself sooner or later. Vol. 1 and II also both had very strong mainstream elements, but in large part they pass by unnoticed because they are interwoven within one of the most unique sounds in rock. Unfortunately, this new style just doesn't stand up to what the group has released previously in 1 and II - not to mention what's on the rest of GttM.

Now, with that out of the way.. This album is incredible! Kicking off with 'Got Jealous', GttM takes a whole 42 seconds before it rolls out with one of the things I love HURT for: the mid song switch-up. Wait, did I skip a track? Is this even the same song? Their ability to so fluidly change and control tempo is unparalled, to my ears.

After that comes the gem of the album. Pandora. Pandora is the story of a woman who seduces a man, and attempts to blackmail him into killing her husband so she can collect the life insurance policy. Nothing noteworthy about the subject matter, but the song itself will have you believing otherwise! The sense of panic created by the frantic pace of the fiddle is so palpable that you will almost think it is YOU in the man's shoes. As the track closes out with the line, "Now I know.. I know.. how hope was lost..", it fades into a haunting, melancholy instrumental that lets you know, too, just how hope was lost!

'Wars' was an excellent choice as the first single. I personally find the subject matter tired, but the heavy sound is great and an excellent introduction to what the band is (mostly) like for new listeners. I strongly, strongly urge anyone looking here after hearing 'Wars' and liking it to go pick up Vol. 1 and Vol. II.

After that, the album flows with mostly ups and the few aforementioned downs. Even those who complain about the group branching out will at least find a few new tracks that could have easily landed on Vol. 1 or II without skipping a beat. The more mainstream hard rock crowd will surely love Role Martyr X and Fighting Tao, and Dreams Away is my early favorite to land a spot as the second single. All in all, few will find they love everything on GttM, but most will agree that as a whole the album is excellent and HURT has more depth than just about any act the rock genre has to offer.