Hopeful Monsters

Hopeful Monsters Artist: The Arts & Sciences
Label: Daemon Records
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 767691905020
EAN: 0767691905020
ASIN: B0007KTBEO


Release Date: 2005-03-08

Hopeful Monsters


Related Categories:

General General
Categories | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
General General
Categories | Rock | Styles | Music
Pop Rock Pop Rock
Categories | Pop | Styles | Music

Tracks:

  1. Tell It To The Bees
  2. What She Kept
  3. Dark Double Bed
  4. O Columbia
  5. You Are Her(E)
  6. Gravel Queen
  7. Fluoxetine
  8. Fall Down
  9. Boom Echo
  10. The Monster At The End Of This Book
  11. Emma

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Breathtaking and Beautiful.......2006-12-30

This is a powerful album. The songs are clever and interesting in their expressive use of metaphor, and the lyrics are beautiful in their complexity. This is not a CD for everyone, true. But if you're looking for something a bit different, with a heartfelt truth to it, this is a good place to start.

5 out of 5 stars Wow, great album!.......2005-06-24

Last night, these guys opened for Indigo Girls in Greensboro, NC. I had never heard their music before & I was captivated from the first moment Paul's smooth voice & Erin's accompanying vocals sounded out. I was drawn into the wonderful beat of Chris's drums and Lee's lead guitar led the way for the songs.

After the band opened, I went to the lobby & purchased this album. I talked to the band (they're all very gracious) & they signed my CD. When I popped this thing into my CD player this morning, I was reminded of last night & the cohesiveness of this group. The melodies are poppy, the lyrics are catchy, & you'll be singing along as soon as you memorize the words. These guys are great on stage & they sound just as good on the album.

If you're looking for a fresh sound out of Atlanta, these guys are for you. This is probably one of the best albums I've picked up this year.

4 out of 5 stars This group is gr8 live!!.......2005-06-23

I saw them last night at the Rams Head Live in Baltimore opening for the Indigo Girls. They are gr8! They have an old school sound - not hard rock, kinda "Echo and the Bunnyman" -esk. This cd comes with the words. I'm gonna get the two cd's that Paul (the lead singer) has. Don't be afraid to try something new.

3 out of 5 stars Fire Escape.......2005-05-28

"Camera Obscura," Paul Melancon's previous solo CD, took a year & a half to record. "Hopeful Monsters" was recorded in 2 weeks at Rob Gal's studio. Gal also produced the Josh Joplin Group. I loved the beautiful melody of "Entr'acte" and the pep rock of "Jeff Lynne" on 'Obscura.' This set has a more offhand feel. The Arts & Sciences are on tour with label owners The Indigo Girls; so it will be interesting to hear how this set plays live. "What She Kept," the 2nd track, is a slow dreamy song that highlights Melancon's aching vocals, "What she kept was a fire escape of a love, a safety net you only reach from above." That's my favorite track on the set. "Fluoxetine" follows this same vein. The drug, sold commercially as Prozac, mirrors a slow dreamy melody that builds like one trying to overcome a deeply rooted sadness. "Boom Echo" again works well for Melancon's vocals in this slow sad dreamy melody genre, but with a bit more lyrical mud, "I am the man in this song now who knows that I am the man in this song with no hope of making sense of the scenery." The CD concludes with "Emma" that gets a nice groove going. Moments that work less well include "You Are Her(e)" that starts off, "This song is a new one; sit down, settle in; there's not much chance that you've heard it before so let's just begin." Truth be told, with a clunky lyric like that, there's not much chance that I'll hear it very often since I tend to skip past. I also find "O Columbia" to offer promise as a political protest song if "Columbia" is a reference to the "United States," but seems too obscure to really communicate, "Her friends are there but quiet, too afraid to suggest she ought to know." The song does rock a bit & have a pulse as does "Gravel Queen," but neither is overly distinguished. "Hopeful Monsters" appears to be more hopeful than realized, although there are moments that will continue to keep Melancon on my radar screen. Enjoy!

1 out of 5 stars please.......2005-05-26

If pretension, tedium, and self-indulgence are your thing, then this is the album and Melancon is the 'artist' for you. This is, put simply, one of the worst albums I have ever heard. If you want to hear popular emo music listen to Dashboard Confessional, Thursday, Taking Back Sunday, or even Saves The Day. This premeditated depression sound is plain irritating. The songwriter seems to be trying to turn his mediocre mid-life crisis into catchy teen angst. Mostly, it just sounds like an old man in a coffee shop strumming his guitar and whining. Is this supposed to be clever?

Music Album:

  1. Money Doesn't Make It ~ Daevid Allen's University of Errors
  2. Best of Toadies: Live From Paradise ~ Toadies
  3. The Essential Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show ~ Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show
  4. Boss Guitar! The Best of Jan Davis ~ Jan Davis
  5. Utopia ~ Various Artists
  6. Strictly Instrumental, Vol. 2 ~ Various Artists
  7. Radio Caroline ~ Area
  8. Guitar Party ~ Henry Kaiser , and Glenn Phillips
  9. Turn to the Bright ~ Far-Less
  10. Three for One Box Set ~ Madonna

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

The Color of Things ~ Sandro Albert

Reach for the Sky ~ Alexander Zonjic

Individuation ~ Thomas Marriott

Super Nova ~ Wayne Shorter

Vertical ~ Christine Wodrascka

A Che Ora E La Fine del Mondo ~ Ligabue

Kokoro No Tabi ~ Tulip

Gypsy Folk Songs from Hungary ~ Kalyi Jag

Ma Ho Pam Fo

Lu Horta ~ Lu Horta