Customer Reviews

Hope & Adams

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I picked this one up because of all of the positive press it was receiving (a method of musical exploration lending itself to embarrassing defeatism as much as anything). A month into it, I find myself going back to it with increasing frequency. At times it seems like a bucolic and more upbeat Seam, like these guy are so locked into what they're doing that they aren't afraid of sticking it out there a little more than that great Chicago band. The biggest test of any new music I come across is how it plays out at work with all of the Third Eye Blind and Better Than Ezra fans, and I have gotten some pretty positive feedback. Today, one of my co-workers asked me if "this is the song that makes you cry when you hear it ("Don't I Love You")." His quote: "I'm starting to dig this. You're still pathetic" Yep. This is emotional (not emo-core by any stretch) and visceral music. It's definately guitar based, but with songs like the aforementioned "Don't I Love You", the kind of technology which usually puts off the real "alternative music" (read: Pavement, Seam) listener (a lttle sequencing) only add to well composed, heart-on-the-sleeve songs. It never gets overbearing (read: "twee"), and with Dave Friedman's production never gets too far into the stratosphere to be inaccessible. If Mercury Rev were a nifty little pop band, they might sound a little bit like this. A fine record for breakups, missed opportunity, and days spent worrying about what might have been. Great stuff.

I am not a person given to superlatives or dishing out five stars to every Tom, Dick and Harry with a Strat and an eight track, but this album deserves all the praise that can be lavished upon it. Comparisons to other artists would be demeaning, but in order to get those who have not heard this to understand, it is something like Pavement with a healthy dose of Radiohead, and that is a poor approximation at best.

The classy opener "This Wheat" serves as an introduction to the uninitiated, this is indeed wheat: a quirky little instrumental which says more than a thousand comparisons to other artists about what the next thirteen tracks will reveal. "Don't I Hold You" is an exquisite and powerful track which is brilliant in its simplicity and originality, and probably should have been the first single. It has been getting a bit of airplay ahead of anything else on the album, and deserves this. It may be the best song of last year.

The album then entrances you with the brilliant Raised Ranch Revolution and San Diego, which are fantastic. The end of San Diego may be a little too experimental and dischordant for some, and if you were scared by Kid A you may find it difficult to deal with this track. The first single "Off the Pedestal" is great and bravely understated, and is indeed a worthy first cut, if not my pick of the bunch. The "Body Talk" songs, and the brilliant "Rail the Road" complete what is an unbelievable musical journey.

Ultimately, this is (like Radiohead) not about songs, but about an album. Wheat converse over an hour, not five minutes, and it is compulsory listening to anyone with an open mind. Buy this. if you buy nothing else this year, buy this.

Yes. I never tire of this disc. Don't know a thing about any of the players; got a used copy a couple of years ago. I guess I like it because it sounds attainable. You know, no trillion dollar budget or Times Square ads. It flows well and carries without technical excess. Love the keyboard monkey at the end of San Diego. Don't know why, but this album is just a comfort. The sound of this set is actually not too far away from some of the Sea and Cake stuff. Like that also. Gauging from the other comments they don't repeat themselves--don't know. This is the only Wheat record I have. But if that's a characteristic, that's good. That's why the years have different numbers.

Remember in chemistry class when a liquid would slightly change it's colors? With the musical formula slightly changing with each song, that's the sense I get with this CD. 'Hope And Adams' is an interesting fusion of indie and roots rock along with neo-psychadelic twists. Overall there's a wispy smokey, almost reflective feeling to Wheat's music, with this uncanny ability to maintain it considering their wide range of influences. The first half seems to straddle adult-contemporary rock and the experimental country-tinged flavor of Wilco. The second half tends to explore a bit, going from the moody soundscapes of My Morning Jacket/The Eagles and unconventional marching rhythms, to Dandy Warhols-type power-pop and acoustic ballads. The lead vocals also seem to transform a bit, shifting from a predominantly Johnny Rzeznik croon to Wayne Coyne and Don Henley. Diverse as 'Hope And Adams' is, if there's a common thread that strings all the songs together, it's a bit of subtle The Flaming Lips trickery, from quirky studio sounds to strings, organs, and piano. A metamorphosis of song-writing, this album is really a pleasing listen, lush, with cohesive well-crafted songs.

It's the kind of music that doesn't assault you headfirst but sort of creeps all around you and covers you. Sublime and entirely satisfying. I heard it in a store in San Francisco while on holiday and had to badger the annoyed sales clerk to give me the name of the album. This one is a must-buy.

Wheat did a really fine pop album with "hope and adams". It's not loud, violent music but quiet and well done pop music with many interesting moments. Not mainstream but music with lots of ideas. I like it !

This is an amazing record from start to end; outstanding songwriting, great textures & sounds, and overall, a great feel. I think it would be difficult NOT to love an album with the depth and warmth of this one.

Growing up in my hometown of Taunton, MA I learned a few things. The most important, don't expect much from the local bands. Yet out of the clear, okay, mostly overcast skies, came Wheat. Rising from the ashes of Blair's Carriage with songs sounding unlike anything I'd ever heard outside of my dreams, I pinched myself hard. This can't be real. This can't be Taunton. My spirits were lifted and my faith restored. Ladies and gentlemen. This is the most beautiful album you will ever hear. At least once Aware re-releases it hopefully with a bonus track or eight.

Hope and Adams is an outstanding collection of songs which reflect a more mature, refined directional shift for this band. While, on the one hand, a little mellower than their earlier work, Hope and Adams shows what beautiful things happen when they turn things down a half-notch. If it only consisted of tracks 1-3, this album could easily satisfy. Perhaps the only cause for the slightest disappointment would be San Diego (#4) and it being a little too lo-fi on More Than You'll Ever Know (which is otherwise a fantastic song destined to echo around the head for days).

As an introductory album to Wheat, Hope and Adams is a solid bet. While they can be GENERALLY classified with such bands as Wilco (though not as countrified) and The Sea & Cake (except not as ethereal), Wheat owns a unique spot in the indie-alterna-pop-rock realm. Memorable vocals, a relaxed yet fresh sound and smart writing make for an album bound for heavy rotation.

Wheat's the band you want to tell all your friends about yet still quietly wish that they don't become TOO popular for fear that it won't sound like they're singing just for you anymore.

I've never really been into American Alternate Music before, but I don't like to limit my taste in music and when I heard "Don't I Hold You" single once on BBC Radio 1 I was transfixed. I bugged my dad for ages to help me find it hoping that the album would be as good as that single. It was! The fantasic guitar chords and beautiful words totally infiltrated my brain! The single "Don't I Hold You " is one of the most moving tunes I've heard (along side "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls). Believe me if you're a girl at "that time of the month" you won't be able to stop crying for hours. It's haunting. "And Someone with Strength", "Body Talk" (parts 1 and 2) are fantasic examples of well written songs. Only god knows why "Wheat" haven't been promoted enough in England..they deserve more notice and recognition in the UK.