Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
WOW!!!!, April 22, 2009
Ok, for starters, for anybody who loves Manchester Orchestra's first album I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child, this album might initally come as a shock because it has an entirely different tone and production. It has a much heavier edge to it and the sound has more of a polish to it. These aren't bad qualities by any means, but the sound is noticeably different.
That being said, the same qualities that made the previously album impossible to stop listening to all the way through, over and over, are all here again. This has to be the freshest band I've heard in what seems like a decade. The songwriting is superior to anything that's been offered up in ages. Andy Hull's voice, and the palbable unity of the way this band plays together creates songs that can bring you to tears in one instance while at the same time hitting you squarely in the solar plexus with riffs that tighten your flesh and invite the adrenaline to course through your veins.
The most noticeable quality is the beauty contained within every finely crafted song. In a world that grows increasingly more vacant daily, these guys have once again produced nothing short of musical integrity. Cheers Manchester Orchestra! Absolute brilliance!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Generally energetic and full of angst, June 13, 2009
I'm not at all familiar with Manchester Orchestra and hadn't heard of them whatsoever until their second album, Mean Everything To Nothing, was soon to come out. So this is about as unbiased as it can get. Are they from Manchester? Are they actually an orchestra?
No and no. They're from Georgia and they're an indie rock band, which is positive news to me considering I love rock and not so much the orchestral stuff. They're also fairly young - I think some of the members were just out of high school upon the first album's release, but my facts could be wrong. Talented musicians are becoming younger and younger these days though, and it's amazing.
Aside from a few slow songs like "One Hundred Dollars" and "Tony The Tiger," Mean Everything To Nothing is upbeat and lively. Singer Andy Hull can be somewhat whiny at times and is generally energetic and full of angst. I can't say that's my thing, but at times the band is reminiscent of Silverun Pickups, a band I'm fond of. Definitely check out Carnavas. Shoot, both front men even have masculine beards to complement their not-so-masculine voices. While I don't care for teen angst and such, Manchestra Orchestra are instrumentally sound as a whole and I can appreciate that. You should too.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Orchestra"? Kickin' Indie Rock Band!, July 16, 2009
On "Mean Everything to Nothing," Manchester Orchestra is like Nirvana stoked on Red Bull. The strange, infectious mix of near-screeching vocals, driving melodies, and sometimes cryptic lyrics hooked me from the beginning of "The Only One" all the way to the last track, "The River." The band always seems on the verge of exploding from the force of their own music, yet they hold on, leading to some excellent songs.
The opening "The Only One" starts with a whine, both electronically and vocally, but then quickly rockets into a catchy, upbeat song about "the passive power of the truth." "Shake it Out" continues with an edgy, club sound that begs for a party. Other memorable tracks are "I've Got Friends," "My Friend Marcus," and "The River." Some songs address a yearning for the spiritual, while just as many find their angst elsewhere.
The CD is not perfect, however. Lead singer Andy Hull doesn't have the range and control to pull off the quiet moments the way, say, Chris Martin of Coldplay can, and some of the lyrics *seem* as though they should make sense, but don't. Despite these flaws, I've listened to this CD numerous times without growing tired of it.
-- Debbie Lee Wesselmann
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