Manchester Orchestra - I'm Like A Virgin Losing A Child Album Review

Manchester Orchestra

I'm Like A Virgin Losing A Child

Columbia

Album Review

Manchester Orchestra is the brainchild of singer, songwriter Andy Hull - the band hails from Atlanta, Georgia, and has an average age of only 19. But this is one of the most impressive debuts you'll hear in a long while. Hull has an ability and a voice to rival Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst - the songs, when stripped down, carry an intimacy that makes your heart ache. But when the band comes in, they do so with a combination of Feeder power, In Utero Nirvana edge and Death Cab For Cutie subtlety. The dynamics are shocking - one song has you leaning in to hear the catch in Hull's voice, the next has your head banging like a 16-year old at a Metallica concert - and breathtaking. That someone so young can write one song so maturely great is cause for celebration. That Hull can write an album full means this is a young man destined for greatness. No British band is currently so exciting, so deft, so full of Cobain feel and Gallows punk, built around songs that combine gentle poetry and deep, deep melody. Manchester Orchestra and Andy Hull seem like genuine talents in a world of wannabees.

Rating 10/10

Mike Rea