Manchester Orchestra

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Biography

Manchester Orchestra (formed in 2005) Manchester Orchestra is an American alternative rock band.

Formation & Career: Manchester Orchestra formed in Atlanta, Georgia. The band's leader, Andy Hull, had become alienated by what he calls his 'small-town-Georgia, Christian high school" (Province Christian Academy) so he studied at home for his senior year of high school. During that year (2004), he wrote and recorded his first album.

Early in the formation of Manchester Orchestra, an album entitled Nobody Sings Anymore was recorded. It was never released, though, due to a number of line-up alterations and changes in the band's musical direction. The lineup of the band has since stabilized to include Andy Hull on vocals, guitar and piano, Jeremiah Edmond on drums, Chris Freeman on vocals, keyboards and drums, Jonathon Corley on bass and Robert McDowell and vocals and guitar.

Some of the tracks written for that early album ended up on I Brainstorm, You Brainstorm, but Brilliance Needs a Good Editor. The EP was released on Favourite Gentleman Recordings in 2005. The title of the track 'Play It Again, Sam! You Don't Have Any Feathers' was taken from a Woody Allen film.

Manchester Orchestra's debut was entitled I'm Like A Virgin Losing A Child. It was released in 2006 to mixed reviews but caught the attention of many within the music industry and resulted in the band signing with Canvasback.

The band's next studio EP was entitled Let My Pride Be What's Left Behind and was released in October 2008.

Manchester Orchestra's second album was recorded with the producer Joe Chicarelli, who has previously worked with the Shins and My Morning Jacket. In September 2008, the band announced that the title of the album would be Mean Everything to Nothing. The album was finally released in April 2009 and prior to its release, Manchester Orchestra posted a free MP3 of one of the tracks, 'I've Got Friends' on their website. The track 'Wolves At Night' was chosen to appear on the video game, NHL 08.

Manchester Orchestra have appeared on a number of TV shows, such as Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night With Conan O'Brien. In addition to these performances, a number of their songs have been chosen to appear on the soundtrack of TV shows, such as Gossip Girl ('I Can Feel A Hot One') and One Tree Hill (Mean Everything to Nothing').

Biography by Contactmusic.com

Skate And Surf Festival 2015 Splashes Down In NJ Next Month

By Joe DeAndrea in Music / Festivals on 24 April 2015

The Gaslight Anthem Dropkick Murphys From Autumn to Ashes Hot Rod Circuit Manchester Orchestra

All you need to know about next month's Skate and Surf Festival.

This year’s Skate and Surf Festival will be the third since its revival in 2013. With performances from the likes of Fall Out Boy, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and A Day To Remember, the past two years have proven why Skate and Surf should be a staple to kick-off your summer, and it's looking like 2015 has a line-up that shouldn’t be missed out on either.

The Asbury Park, New Jersey-based fest will be taking place on May 16 and May 17, and it’s chock full of some of the hottest name in the genre, and even a couple reunions of bands that the genre has desperately been missing. 2014 saw the reunions of legendary pop-punk band Midtown (Gabe Saporta of Cobra Starship) and alt-rockers Saosin, featuring the addition of ex-member and current vocalist of Circa Survive, Anthony Green. It’s only fitting that Skate and Surf one-ups their reunions now, but let’s take it day-by-day and give the lowdown on the headliners and notable bands for the packed weekend.

Continue reading: Skate And Surf Festival 2015 Splashes Down In NJ Next Month

Manchester Orchestra - Hope Album Review

By Jim Pusey in Music Reviews on 06 October 2014

Album number five from Atlanta's Manchester Orchestra finds Andy Hull re-treading familiar territory. But rather than feeling like deja vu, this acoustic track-by-track interpretation of their previous release 'Cope' is, in my mind, a more satisfying venture. That may not be a view shared by established fans. Although 'Cope' was rather more frenetic than previous releases, its companion piece 'Hope' succeeds in pulling more emotion out of the material than the electrified renditions, which for the most part sounded like poking a raw nerve.

Manchester Orchestra - Hope Album Review

There's a moment roughly halfway through 'Hope' where the minimalist approach that's taken reaches a haunting highpoint that forces you to accept this isn't a gimmick, but an inspired creative choice. Hull's repeated refrain of: "Every stone I've thrown has gone away" seems to underline the tactic. But it's the absence of guitars during 'Every Stone' that refocuses your attention on his vocal, which is persuasively backed at varying points with piano, trumpets and strings. It's a world away from the song's spiky and punky interpretation on 'Cope'; here it sounds so fragile that Hull may breakdown at any moment. The earlier version sounded more defiant than deflated. It's the track that makes you appreciate most the restraint that's been taken on 'Hope'.

There are guitars to be found elsewhere, of course, and it's the instrumentation that's used that is the most radical change between 'Cope' and 'Hope'. However, while, for the most part, the lyrics haven't altered bar a few welcome revisions, there's a definite feeling that Hull's wordplay comes to the forefront here. Lines such as: "It's ok to lose a limb when they get too heavy" during the microscopically detailed disintegration of a relationship throughout 'Trees' are emotional gut-punches that just didn't have the same effect during 'Cope'.

Continue reading: Manchester Orchestra - Hope Album Review