The Hops - Won't It Be Fun
2011, Front Leg Music
2011, Front Leg Music
Chicago trio The Hops swing wide andfree on their first full-length album, Won't It Be Fun. Middle-of-the-roadalt-rock influenced by Garage Rock, punk, folk and jazz is the order of the dayfor Patrick Tinning (vocals/bass); TJ Walker (drums) and Cullin Kress (guitar);creating mildly catchy tunes that can be pleasant to the ear, but often struggleto gain real attention from casual listeners.
Won't It Be Fun shows a lot of potential. For a three-piece outfit, TheHops create some interesting sounds in their arrangements, filling up eachsong's core with a tight-yet-informal sound that's rough hewn and melodic.There's a lot of good energy on the album, but The Hops have a hard timepulling all of the elements together at one time. It seems as if when themelody and the arrangement are strong, the energy falls off, or the arrangementgets messy at times when the melody and energy are at their peak. Things startpositively with "There's Something", a mild-rocker that's the mostcohesive song on the disc. "Thermometer Splits" also works, combiningan unpolished rock and roll sound with great energy and a solid, acousticarrangement.
The Hops quickly sink into a blandrut, where vocal leads and harmonies struggle to stay in key as often as not,and songs that have the potential to be more than they are struggle with theirown indefinite bland nature. The Hops show some writing chops that make themworth tuning in for on Won't It Be Fun, but have a hard time pulling allthe pieces together into consistent song craft. It will be curious to see howthe band progresses the next time around.
Rating: 2 Stars (Out of 5)
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