Search - Manchester Orchestra :: Mean Everything To Nothing

WOW!!!!

J. Robertson | planet earth | 04/23/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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 previous 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!"

An Orchestra With Rock Guitars & Screaming

Flap Jackson | State Road, NC | 02/14/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After listening to Manchester Orchestra's first two singles, it's almost impossible not to buy their album. Songs like "I've Got Friends" are just classic with their pure sense of anger & rage in parts of their songs. They take screaming and make it some sort of loud artform, and yet for everything they get right in those songs, they switch of their sound making it a diversified album. Make no mistake about it, this Orchestra has a lot of rock guitars.



Highlights Include:

I've Got Friends

In My Teeth

I Can Feel A Hot One

My Friend Marcus



But it's not all scream and rock here, songs like "I Can Feel A Hot One" shows the band can do a softer ballad-type tune if need be, or they can do quasi-blues if the song calls for it; and it all works surprisingly well. Often bands are held back by their strengths because they can't do much else, and that is certainly not the case here. But still, Manchester Orchestra isn't for everybody. The vocal style and music to fit their style certainly isn't mainstream by any means, and feels like the grandchild of a grunge and punk hybrid mixed in with a little metal. The album also strikes a very dark tone here, and listening to any of the songs too many times could result a hatred toward it. No. This album is an occasional listen that packs its best punch in small doses.



Overall, certainly not for everyone, but if you can take the album, you'll find a wonderful album that is emotionally-packed and played off perfectly. It's certainly worth trying, and if you take nothing else out of it, take "I've Got Friends." Because with friends like these, who need enemies when these friends provide you with often unparalleled anger."

The Perfect Mix: Indie/Mainstream. Gritty/Clean. ETC, ETC...

Patrick F. | St. Louis, MO | 11/07/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Manchester Orchestra is a band that came out of nowhere for me. Upon further research though, I come to find out that they had a highly praised debut album, "I'm Like A Virgin Losing A Child", back in 2006 and that this new album, "Mean Everything To Nothing", received a perfect 5 star review from Alternative Press magazine. Apparently I was behind the band wagon for awhile. Now I am fully dressed in MO gear and ready to cheer them on forever. I fell in love with "I've Got Friends" and then I decided to check out their entire album. I was blown away. Indie music isn't usually my preferred genre of music but there is just something about this album; not something, but rather, everything about this album, that is amazing.



1. The Only One (2:39) 10/10

2. Shake It Out (5:11) 10/10

3. I've Got Friends (4:57) 10/10

4. Pride (5:48) 10/10

5. In My Teeth (4:42) 10/10

6. 100 Dollars (1:50) 10/10

7. I Can Feel A Hot One (4:19) 10/10

8. My Friend Marcus (3:41) 10/10

9. Tony The Tiger (3:09) 9.5/10

10. Mean Everything To Nothing (5:38) 10/10

11. The River/Jimmy He Whispers (11:34) 10/10



Overall: 11 @ 53:25 - 10/10



Ever since I started to learn about different types of music, Indie music was always intriguing to me, but what happened was that I could never find one band that really interested me. When I heard this band I finally knew that this is what I wanted, and this is what I needed to hear. This album walks all sorts of lines. It's just the perfect amount of weird (read: Indie), with the perfect amount of good 'ol grunge/rock. The dynamics are INSANE; the perfect amount of loud gritty, dirty, raw guitars with beautiful guitar melodies, and note for note perfect piano melodies from Chris. Chris's little touches to every song are so important. Andy Hull's vocals are so delicate, fragile, and emotional at times, and then they are gritty, raw, and biting at other times. This man is a beast at 22, and I don't think anything can stop him now.



Lyrically Andy's writing is superb. Some of the lyrics are enigmatic and cryptic. Others, you can really here how much forgiveness this man thinks that he needs. His lyrics are hopeful, and hopeless. Sometimes they feel really spiritual, others almost nihilistic, and at all times they are 100 percent honest, and personal. Whether it's him asking himself a depp question, or saying a cold truth, you feel like it's about yourself. This album makes you reflect.



The guitar work is refreshing. The guitar work is some of the best of the year. Trust me, if you like guitars, you will like this album. Melodies are spot on. The dirty, grungy riffs are sick, etc., etc. The drum work is subtle, and explosive. The bass lines, are, exactly how they should be.



The flow of this album is so smooth. Every song flows right into each other seamlessly. This album has alternative songs, catchy songs, grungy songs, dark and brooding hard rock songs, an acoustic and string laced song, etc. These songs are Indie at the same time they are catchy enough to be on the radio without sacrificing any substance. In fact, that word truly sums up this album; substance. And so does perfect, and complete, and balanced, and honest. I could keep going on and on about this album but I wont.



Buy this album.

"