Album Review

Manchester Orchestra – Mean Everything To Nothing

• 3rd May 2009

This is the second full studio album from the Atlanta based band, contrary to the conception that they are from Manchester, England. Despite their appearance of a middle of the road band and having orchestra as part of their band name, they a clearly are not. The opening track ‘The Only One’ sets the tone of the album with their quirky keyboard riffs, power cords, distortion and a quiet/ loud tempo. Andy Hall’s wailing voice lets you know that you are listening to a raw power album which was meant to be played to live. Andy Hall comments on the album saying, “We recorded it live because we wanted it to sound like a band, and I think it does: live and loud!”

Key track of the album is ‘Pride’, a sound that can only be described as anguish. This track deviates from the overall sound of the album by a feeling of sorrow from the sound of the guitars and Andy Hall’s voice as he changes his tone from spoken word to singing then to howling. For fans of: The Pixies, Weezer, The Automatic, Brand New