{"product_id":"hope-downs","title":"Hope Downs","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003e*Loser edition LPs are SOLD OUT. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003eIt's rare\rthat a band's debut album sounds as confident and self-assured as Rolling\rBlackouts Coastal Fever's \u003ci\u003eHope Downs\u003c\/i\u003e.\rTo say that the first full-length from the Melbourne quintet improves on their\rbuzz-building EPs from the last few years would be an understatement: the\rpromise those early releases hinted at is fully realized here, with ten songs\rof urgent, passionate guitar pop that elicit warm memories of bands past, from\rthe Go-Betweens' jangle to the charmingly lo-fi trappings of New Zealand's\rFlying Nun label. But don't mistake Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever for\rnostalgists: \u003ci\u003eHope Downs\u003c\/i\u003e is the sound\rof a band finding its own collective voice. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\r\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe\rhard-hitting debut album is a testament to Rolling Blackouts C.F.’s tight-knit\rand hard-working bonafides. Prior to forming the band in 2013,\rsingers\/guitarists Fran Keaney, Tom Russo, and Joe White had played together in\rvarious garage bands, dating back to high school. When Rolling Blackouts C.F.\rstarted, with Joe Russo [Tom’s brother] on bass, Marcel [Tussie, Joe White's\rthen-housemate] on drums, the chemistry was immediate. After a split EP with\rYou Yangs (another Russo brother's band), released in the form of a frisbee,\rthey self-released \u003ci\u003eTalk Tight\u003c\/i\u003e in\r2015, which Sydney-based record label Ivy League gave a wider release the\rfollowing year. \u003ci\u003eTalk Tight\u003c\/i\u003e garnered\rplaudits from critics, including legendary rock scribe Robert Christgau. In\r2017, Sub Pop released \u003ci\u003eThe French Press \u003c\/i\u003eEP,\rbringing the band's chugging and tuneful non-linear indie rock to the rest of\rthe world as they settled into their sound with remarkable ease. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\r\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eHope Downs\u003c\/i\u003e was largely written over the past year in the band's Melbourne\rrehearsal room where their previous releases were also written and recorded.\rThe band's core trio of songwriters hunkered down and wrote as the chaos of the\rworld outside unavoidably seeped into the songwriting process. \"We were\rfeeling like we were in a moment where the sands were shifting and the world\rwas getting a lot weirder. There was a general sense that things were coming\rapart at the seams and people around us were too,” Russo explains. The album\rtitle, taken from the name of a vast open cut mine in the middle of Australia,\rrefers to the feeling of “standing at the edge of the void of the big unknown,\rand finding something to hold on to.” \u003c\/p\u003e\r\r\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWith the\rhelp of engineer\/producer Liam Judson and his portable setup, the band recorded\r\u003ci\u003eHope Downs\u003c\/i\u003e live, and co-produced ten\rguitar pop gems over the course of two weeks in Northern New South Wales during\rthe winter of 2017. \u003ci\u003eHope Downs\u003c\/i\u003e\rpossesses a robust full-band sound that's all the more impressive considering\rthe band's avoidance of traditional recording studios. If you loved \u003ci\u003eTalk Tight\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe French Press\u003c\/i\u003e, you certainly won't be disappointed here—but you\rmight also be surprised at how the band’s sound has grown. There's a richness\rand weight to these songs that was previously only hinted at, from the\rskyscraping chorus of “Sister's Jeans” to the thrilling climax of album closer\r“The Hammer.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\r\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eHope Downs\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is as much about the people that populate the world around\rus—their stories, perspectives, and hopes in the face of disillusionment—as it\ris about the state of things at large. It's a record that focuses on finding\rthe bright spots at a time when cynicism all too often feels like the natural\rstate. Rolling Blackouts C.F. are here to remind us to keep our feet on the\rground—and \u003ci\u003eHope Downs\u003c\/i\u003e is as delicious\ra taste of terra firma as you're going to get from a rock band right now.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":51002366492897,"sku":"oac1791987169929","price":13.68,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":51002366525665,"sku":"quz1791987169930","price":9.36,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Cassette","offer_id":51002366558433,"sku":"wqc1791987169931","price":6.1,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":51002366591201,"sku":"rzt1791987169932","price":6.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/3788\/8481\/files\/hope-downs_1.jpg?v=1791987178","url":"https:\/\/flipflopclad.shop\/products\/hope-downs","provider":"Flipflopclad","version":"1.0","type":"link"}