This Is Hope

The groove of "Peculiar" gets the album off to an excellent start. This archetypal pop ditty (it even has "ooh oohs") owes much of its sound to the irony of bands such as Barenaked Ladies, XTC and also Frank Zappa's Cruising with Ruben and the Jets. The near-ballad of "Death of a Scientist" descends into a semi-ELO-esque prog-rock epic but never becomes pretentious. The piano-driven "Your Love, My Gain" is a brilliantly written piece of music, the self-deprecating lyric providing the track with a Ben Folds Five feel. The orchestration and the falsetto harmonies that appear on "Len" draw influence from the classic power ballads of the 60s, something which the likes of Divine Comedy have used to great effect over the last couple of years.

This album is bursting with quality. Mull Historical Society are unafraid to use bold musical arrangements while not obscuring the pure excellence of McIntyre's melodies. The result is a very fresh, clean and honest sound. --Jamie Clark