DAILY RECORD : Hostage Calm

Posted by: Tony – Jul 12, 2010

Hostage Calm – Hostage Calm (Run For Cover Records)
Hostage Calm’s second full length record is a difficult one to place. I’d be as justified saying this album sounds like a Dag Nasty record as I would saying it sounds like the Beach Boys. The band’s sound is all over the place, yet cohesive. This is one of the most musically ambitious efforts I’ve heard in years, and the result is a very rewarding album for music fans. I’d say it’s an early candidate for album of the year.

Despite a noticeably different approach from their traditional hardcore sound, the band doesn’t abandon its roots entirely with this album. The spirit and energy are certainly there, but it offers up so much more than a standard album in the genre. Bells and acoustic guitars layer over the band’s normal instrumentation to create a Latin infused verse that strip down to a classic sing-along chorus in the song Ballots/Stones. Other songs have beautifully arranged three part vocal harmonies that float over crunching guitars and driving drum beats. Other moments feel like one of the Clash’s later records. It’s simply an impossible record to sum up in easy terms; give it a listen.

The self titled album will be released July 20th on Run For Cover Records on CD and LP.

by Carl Athey