Such elegant beauty...January 28, 2010 Bezdomny(Moscow, Russia) 16 out of 16 found this review helpful
Thinking about this album, the term Lo-fi (regardless of the new subgenre it now refers to) would imply lower sound quality (as a result of cheaper equipment used during production) or at the very least a stripped down sound without a great deal of multitracking. However, the use of low end synths, circuit bending, etc. has redefined Lo-fi (somewhat ironically.) Ironic because an album such as Hospice, which is a veritable sonic masterpiece, is associated with a term that evokes the static crackle of an old Lead Belly record. I am assuming that the digital wash which underpins certain tracks or the sustained, modulating notes which weave their way around the refrains and punctuate the intermissions conjure this connection. Make no mistake however; the clarity of sound is amazing. This is certainly an aural pièce de résistance which justifies the existence of 500 dollar headphones (almost.)
Upon listening to this album, one might be reminded of certain moments from Kid A, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Brian Eno's Here Come the Warm Jets, along with elements of shoegaze and post-rock which are used sparingly and to great effect. However, this album is far from being a pastiche of the previously mentioned albums or musical approaches. In fact, holistically it doesn't necessarily sound like any one of them though if one were to deconstruct Hospice, certain elements of the previously mentioned albums would be present. And by using post rock/shoegaze as a tool instead of as a template, they brilliantly avoid some of the pitfalls for those respective genres. Thus, instead of being a 70 minute album with 5 songs, Hospice is ultimately a great pop album with excellent song craft which is woven within a shoegaze tapestry.
For example, while a song like "Thirteen" on a typical post-rock album would be used to segue between two 10 minute exercises in dynamics, inevitably leading to a crescendo and the subsequent wall of sound, on Hospice it serves as the bridge between "bear" and "two", tracks which are ultimately more indebted to Pet Sounds than any "experimental" forms of music. Luckily this approach brings a necessary levity to an album which delves painfully and effectively into the reality of death, and not death in any romanticized notion which lends itself to fashion, aesthetics and narcissism. This album tackles the pained notion of death as negation, the end of life, the end of hope, the end of connection. Within this context we are given the moral complexity of interacting with those who are dying (and not in the Sylvia Plath sense), the power dynamic it entails, the conflicting feelings, the real human experience stripped bare and revealed.
For a concept album, it masterfully avoids (both lyrically and sonically) the maudlin trappings that punctuate so many concept albums. There is not a single moment of self-indulgence on this album, a maturity that is shocking for such a relatively new band. It is truly a feat to make a concept album about someone dying in a hospice without falling into self-pity, exaggeration, egoism or theatrics. It is quite simply amazing. These are a group of musicians who see through the glass more clearly than most.
I would also like to steer people away from the pretensions expressed by other reviewers in relation to this album. I am not sure what an upbringing is in the "Indie Music Tradition", but I have never tried to craft an identity out of my record collection. Any problems of accessibility have less to do with "Indie Music" and more to do with openness. Someone who would immediately dismiss this album would probably dismiss John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" for the same reasons. That is not to say that a John Coltrane fan would necessarily like Hospice or vice-versa, but a willingness to try something different is far more important than any inclinations towards a term which doesn't really encapsulate any specific genre of music to begin with. I also don't get any references to Bon Iver (with the exception of the occasional use of falsetto) or the Decembrists (outside of the fact that they've both done concept albums.)
All in all, this album is simply powerful, beautiful, poignant, emotionally gripping and a post-modern masterpiece. It is not an album to dance to, I'm not even sure if it's an album I would want to listen to with other people. There is an overwhelming sense of intimacy with very difficult themes that does not lend itself to casualness. I once remember Kind Rock criticizing Radiohead for making music that he couldn't even imagine throwing on at a party. While being an avid fan of Radiohead while concurrently thinking of Kid Rock as one of the worst things to happen to music in my lifetime, I do get his point. There is music for all seasons, and not everyone is willing to grapple with what comes after the autumn leaves have fallen. For those who are, this album is a perfect and beautiful artistic expression of the ever looming terminus at the end of this long and winding road. I cannot recommend it enough.
Perfect, absolutely perfect.August 25, 2009 S. Barr(Charlotte, NC USA) 24 out of 31 found this review helpful
More than deserving of a 5/5. I literally give this album a 100%
This is a truly emotional and beautiful album. It seems to be a concept album, circling around someone's stay & ultimate death in a hospital. (Perhaps an abortion) &it really communicates all the emotion that comes along with that. Beautiful melodies and vocals that always seem heavy with sorrow, but just enough noise to express the helplessness and rage one would feel at someone's hospital bed.
Wake is the most beautiful song I've heard in a long time.
God, my words don't do this album justice. Just get it. You will be happy and sad and in awe and f***ing blown away.
One of my top five albums of the yearSeptember 12, 2009 P. Smith 13 out of 16 found this review helpful
Well, what can I say? I'm a sucker for these concept, narrative albums- even ones that aren't as masterful, atmospheric, well-worded, and balanced as this one- so how could I, seeing such a treasure being mostly ignored, refrain in all good consciousness from joining its meager, vocal appreciators' ranks?
Manic Depressive at it's FinestDecember 16, 2009 Robert J. Petersen(Medina, OH) 6 out of 7 found this review helpful
Wow. It's taken me three days and many riveted listens to figure out how to write this review. Those who've compared this to Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea aren't that far off and fans of NMH will fall in love with this one instantly.
But the most accurate comparison I can make is to Lou Reed's Berlin. Both deal with brutally raw subject matter. The lyrics of both suck you into into the most intimate details of another's life (by the way, you can find them for this album at [...]) and death. Both have simple haunting melodies at their core. Add in deep emotionally delivered vocals and you have album length single pieces of roller-coaster manic-depressive music that, if you have the open mind and strength to really listen to, you will never forget.
There are only a few albums that play with my emotions like this (and I love every second of it). Roger Water's The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking and Radiohead's The Bends are two that come to mind and were I more clever I am sure I could have figured out how to tie them into this review in a more meaningful way.
Buy thisJanuary 4, 2010 Alisa McCune(Chicago, IL USA) 13 out of 17 found this review helpful
I had a stroke this past June. When I listen to this album it moves me to tears. I cannot get the music out of my head. I am just blown away. I am moved to tears. Feeling hopeless and alone in a hospital is a horrid thing.
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![Hospice [Explicit]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Nn7W3frxL._SL160_.jpg)
