Odd. That’s the initial impression ‘Grand Gestures’ gives off. Not because it’s some madcap, botched, experimentalist mess but because it really feels like there are two bands on display here. The first, book ending the release with tracks one and four, is a real stadium-rock wannabe full of big guitars and intricate musicianship. Hell, the title track itself is a dead ringer for Biffy Clyro, and grandiose isn’t even the word.
Sandwiched right between these two monolithic slabs are a couple of pop-punk tracks. Well, pop-punk with something else. ‘At the Sight of You’ has almost a hint of that southern US sound to it. At least that’s about as close to putting your finger on it as you get. Otherwise the two tracks emerge exactly like those that accompany the triumphant final scene of teen comedy flicks (you know, like they might have been lifted from the pop-punk oozing soundtracks that were staples of ‘American Pie’ and the likes). At times there’s a sense of No Use For A Name, at others a hint at ‘San Dimas..’ era Ataris. A long way from those other two tracks, that’s for sure.
Okay, not so odd. It turns out Hope & State only formed as a band this year. It’d be a little presumptuous then to expect a band to have nailed down their sound already. Factoring in such a short existence also highlights the quality of recordings here. For a band not really in its infancy yet, this is pretty impressive stuff, and extremely accessible. The big, hooked choruses alone are enough to whip up a storm of dubious dance moves and idiotic grins, whilst Imran Murtaza Siddiqi’s vocals have not only a heartfelt quality to them but also a sense of character. Certainly there’s enough here to catch the attention.
‘Grand Gestures’ as an E.P. is a little rough around the edges for sure but it’s easy to imagine that roughness isn’t going to take an awful lot of smoothing down. If you like rock music (regardless of the sub genre breakdowns), this is a record worth giving 15 minutes to. It’s punky but has an epicentre in big, booming, melodic rock soundscapes.
Alex