Bright Future for No Hopers

Bright future for "No Hopers"!

A review of "No Hope in New Jersey" at the Roadhouse, Manchester,
Tuesday 27 July 2004, by R. Eric Swanepoel
(http://beinghappy.info)

(1) Not "No Hope in New Jersey" - the band before.

9.30 p.m. There were four of them. Like the others, the lead
singer/rhythm guitarist was lean, white and ineffably middle-class,
with his bleached blond looks, crafted chinstrap beard and designer
khaki T-shirt. To the left, the black-shirted lead guitarist had used
gel to painstakingly tussock his dark locks. The bass player, to the
right, was out-cleancutting the lot of them, with his boyish looks and
pristine white T-shirt. Behind them the drummer sweated nondescriptly.
The music? Left hands barely moved on fretboards, right arms pumped
away: "thrash metal"? It looked like hard work. Not much fun.

The sparse audience appeared to be at an acting audition. They'd
clearly been asked to portray "listlessness". It would have been a
tough night for the casting director. Even the two young women up at
the stage, radiating "musician's moll", just looked on apathetically.
It was loud. It was tuneless. It was relentless. Sure, they were
trying. Very. Did I say "lead singer"? "Bawler", more like. But he was
nothing compared to the bassman who, pushing his voice to its
Concorde-like vocal cord-torturing limits, sporadically screamed what
sounded like "Die!" and later "Why?" Good question.

So what did they get wrong? In rock music, credibility is everything.
These guys looked as if this was a little game they were playing - a
hobby to shock the old folks - before they settled into comfortable
stockbrokerdom. How could these fair and image-conscious youths
possibly have experienced enough trauma in their brief lives to breathe
authentic passion into their frantic rantings?

Anything redeeming? Yes. There was a brief moment of gentle arpeggio
and intelligible tuneful singing. They can do it! Don't give up, guys!
Stop trying to be hard men and you might get somewhere.

What were they called? Amnesia-something-or-other. I forget.

(2) "No Hope in New Jersey" - at last!

Then came the real thing. Without preamble, NHINJ launched into the
sort of supercharged super-tight rollercoaster rock that makes you glad
to be alive. Song-writing, singing and guitar-playing frontman Andy
Garratt has got all it takes. He was clearly enjoying himself at the
head of this well-rehearsed and cohesive unit, and his roving eye and
expressive face connected with the audience as much as did the rich and
varied music. When he performed those classic rockstar gymnastics -
playing on his back, and jumping on the barriers at the front of the
stage - you believed it. Yes, he also had the bleached hair and
youthful good looks of the previous band's frontman, but he really
inhabited the music and there was no question of authenticity.

What of the rest of the band? Emily Seabroke, on bass to the right of
the stage, was clearly a competent musician. Her intelligent and subtle
playing contributed much. If I have one criticism, it is that she
failed to make much contact with the audience. This was probably due to
nervousness, and, indeed, she did seem more at ease towards the end of
the set. As it is, playing bass she could hardly duet with Andy, which
Steve Marsden (like Andy, on guitar and vocals) did with panache. The
head-to-head set pieces added to the band's sizzling chemistry. Steve's
singing and musicianship could not be faulted, at least not by me!
Craig on drums, Steve's brother, did not disgrace the family name
either, flashy stickwork as befitted the rhythm motor of what may
become the UK's top young rock act.

The audience? Other than my immediate companions, I wasn't looking at
them. My friend Joanna certainly had that feral rock-chick glow
reignited in her married woman's eyes. Her husband might have been
jealous had he not also been transfixed. I heard, by the way, that at
one recent gig Andy shrewdly dedicated a song to one tough-looking
member of the audience as he was becoming increasingly aware of the
dangerously rapt attention of this bloke's female companion! (And yes,
girls, I think Andy may be available!)

Was the show perfect? No. Andy's enthusiastic playing broke a string
towards the beginning of the set, and his replacement guitar kept going
out of tune, or so he told us. Eventually he had the string on his
original guitar replaced by someone offstage. It's often when things go
wrong one that can really judge the quality of an act, however, and
Andy's relaxed banter during the several tuning sessions did nothing to
harm the rapport they'd established at the outset.

I suppose I should tell you a bit more about their music. It's got
everything you could want: vocal interludes, spicy guitar breaks and
solos, judiciously sprinkled killer riffs, and tunes you can hum as
well as dance to. Like Supergrass before them, they've mastered all the
rock essentials and they've assembled them in their own unique
way.

No Hope in New Jersey's double A-sided debut single (Narcolepsy/Sober)
is now available. Here's a review:
http://www.rockfeedback.com/article.asp?nObjectID=2404

More information on their website: http://www.nohopeinnewjersey.com