Hope Of The States have confirmed that they have completed work on a new EP, saying it contains “the best songs we ever have done”.
The post-rock band achieved cult status in the early ’00s thanks to their two acclaimed studio albums – 2004’s ‘The Lost Riots’ and 2006’s ‘Left’ – but broke up shortly after releasing their second record.
READ MORE: Hope Of The States on their return: “It’s loud, it’s messy, it has all that heart in it”
The band later explained that they felt “cursed” by bad luck throughout their career, having lost their guitarist Jimmi Lawrence to suicide in 2004 and received poor album sales.
However, Hope Of The States announced their return this summer. They confirmed their first tour in 18 years alongside a remastered vinyl reissue of their debut album, and shared news of brand new music being recorded with producer Jolyon Thomas (U2, Soft Play, Daughter). Jolyon is the son of the late Ken Thomas (Sigur Rós, Wire, M83), with whom the band made their first two records.
Now, in a post on social media today (October 21), the group have revealed that “there’s a new thing” in the works.
“The heaviest magic week and now this, heavy vinyl,” they captioned an image of a vinyl test pressing. “The best week of recording we ever did have, and the best songs we ever have done. If they weren’t we wouldn’t have done them.”
Hope Of The States continued: “Meanwhile, now it’s into endless detail, it’s into the amps catching fire, the piano laying flat for the first time in a decade, finding acoustic guitars behind the fireplace.
“Shout out to BB for fielding endless emails and being exactly the dude JT [Jolyon Thomas] said he was. This caravan of chaos of ours would be spun out in a ditch without yer counsel. Thank you!”
The update went on: “JR is on his way down to learn ‘em all. Lil Mikey wrote a new Ronettes song I need to moan over. Simon Jones’s song got the end nicked for something else and damn I need to moan on that too. PW [Paul Wilson] got a new bass. Mikey Siddell, violin lord, brewery king, warehousing legend?
“Eddie on the video…on the clip scavenge…building a visual monument to pure calamity and ecological wrath. JC on the tees….Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite Vs Windows 95…amen.”
The post went on to say that there was “still a lot to do” on the project, adding: “We’ll get there. Thanks for the interest.”
The band then confirmed that something called ‘Long Waits In A&E’ would be arriving next Friday (November 1) – suggesting that the first single is imminent. Check out the message and image above.
Speaking to NME this summer, frontman Sam Herlihy explained: “The new stuff we’re making is really good. To be in a room with those boys and be on stage is exciting, and I’d like to just enjoy it.
“There is so much of it that we didn’t enjoy. We had a blast, but there was such a ‘thing‘ around it all that we didn’t appreciate it like we should have. To be able to do this with a smile on our faces is all you can ask for. There’s a real sense of gratitude to be able to do this again.”
He went on to say that Hope Of The States had been working on material in a rehearsal room. “It’s all written and we’re going to go and record with Jolyon Thomas, who is the son of Ken Thomas who made our two records with,” Herlihy told NME.
“If the songs weren’t good, then I wouldn’t do this. As fun as it would be to play the shows and give something back to fans would be lovely, it wouldn’t be enough to just play the old stuff. I genuinely believe that it’s as good if not better than the old stuff.”
As for what fans can expect from the band’s shows later this year, he said: “We’re playing three small gigs. We haven’t played in a long time. Who knows who’s going to come? We’ll get in the van, we’ll play new stuff, we’ll play old stuff. Get the caravan of chaos on the road.”
You can see Hope Of The States’ 2024 UK tour dates below, and find any remaining tickets here.
DECEMBER
04 – Deaf Institute, Manchster
05 – Stereo, Glasgow
06 – The Dome, London
07 – Metronome London, London
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