{"id":2311,"date":"2018-05-11T14:58:07","date_gmt":"2018-05-11T19:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/reviews\/?p=2311"},"modified":"2018-05-10T20:58:29","modified_gmt":"2018-05-11T01:58:29","slug":"mad-at-the-world-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/reviews\/mad-at-the-world-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"Mad at the World – Hope"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Roger and Randy Rose from Mad at the World are back at it, with a powerful re-visit of their early synth-heavy albums. Being a fan of MatW and of good synth work, their album Hope<\/em> fails to disappoint. The synth structures and sounds are reminiscent of the eponymous first album and the powerful subsequent release of Flowers in the Rain<\/em>. Fans of 80s synth pop and industrial will find this album a treasure. While the influences from that time are strongly represented, the Rose bros. (I hope they will forgive the use of the phrase!) bring a fresh eye to the music and make it musically contemporary.<\/p>\n

The album\u2019s title, Hope<\/em>, is befitting the overall sentiment and lyrical content. The writing is honest, inviting, and unapologetic in presenting their theological views. It\u2019s not preachy, yet a genuine expression of heartfelt sentiment.<\/p>\n

The first track, “Healing on Planet Earth,” is a great introduction to the overall theme. While retaining a sadness and darkness MatW listeners are familiar with, the familiar sense of real, objective hope in the world that has ever served as a stamp of their music. This track is a pleading prayer asking for a return for love and understanding on Earth. A hopeful return of what we appear to have lost touch with and perhaps failed to expand, leaving it withering on the vine as it were. It finishes with a plea to Jesus to heal us again.<\/p>\n

“My Old Best Friend” is a send-off to one\u2019s old self and welcoming a renewal of heart. Very nice piano work in this, accompanied by some synth backgrounds.<\/p>\n

“You are Free” engages strongly in a celebration of the \u2018Orchestral Hit\u2019 sounds common to the 80s, yet as strong as a sound as it is, it\u2019s pronounced yet not overbearing in this song. Perhaps it\u2019s best use is accomplished in this song. \u201cI can\u2019t help but wonder if God is real, or I\u2019m the one to blame, for all my shame\u201d is a well-constructed lyric that is strong and very accessible. In some instances, it brings tears to one\u2019s eyes. The chorus, \u201cyou are free,\u201d is moving.<\/p>\n

“Moving In and Moving Out” has a very deep synth bassline line continually throughout. As great as all the synth work is in this, the bassline is a favorite feature in this song. The story of the song tells of a malfunctioning love relationship.<\/p>\n

The sounds of “Never Gonna Stop” is reminiscent of Depeche Mode\u2019s People Are People era, though more of a thoughtful reflective sound than D.M. expressed in their earlier material. This piece is about Jesus stating that he\u2019s \u201cnever gonna stop my love for you.\u201d Quite powerful.<\/p>\n

“Can You Feel My Pain?” Is a powerful representation of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane expressed through contemplative piano work backed with strong synth. At least, that\u2019s what the reviewer feels the message is. Something to contemplate in the dark.<\/p>\n

“That\u2019s What He Said” has a great danceable synth backdrop. At least it\u2019s a head-bopping sentiment. The lyrics again are powerful. \u201cThere\u2019s no turning back. There\u2019s no going home. Everything about you, belongs to me. You\u2019re not your own.\u201d There\u2019s a bit of D.M. sounds in this as well, but definitely in a unique presentation. The D.M. is merely a garnish for the overall song here.<\/p>\n

A meditative, slow synth-bass wash defines the backing sound of “Just Beyond the Clouds of Grey.” “A price too high to pay for, I\u2019ll be your currency.”<\/p>\n

“Break Me Down” is a surrender to divine love. Very nicely constructed, pointing out a synth sound reminiscent of a 60s garage rock over the bass and synth background. Nice bassline too! It\u2019s got a \u2018walking rhythm\u2019 that works perfectly for the song\u2019s theme.<\/p>\n

“You Belong to Me” wraps up the theme of hope expressed in the title and encompassing the message of this album. Piano and synth work in this song is great. \u201cDon\u2019t you know you belong to me? You always belong to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overall, many influences can be heard or almost identified, yet Mad at the World retains a uniqueness that separates them from any other band. I mentioned Depeche Mode as an influence, yet there are so many throughout from which they may have borrowed snippets from it\u2019s difficult to identify, and certainly would be an entire article unto itself. I thought to hear (consciously on their part or not) influences from 70s greats like 10cc and Steely Dan, although I suspect their musical knowledge accesses a catalog extending beyond that which many are familiar. I also think to hear touches of David Ball\u2019s excellent keyboard work from Soft Cell and perhaps a smidgen of Nitzer Ebb.<\/p>\n

This reviewer hopes to not take away anything from this album or the overall brilliance of the brothers Rose. The influences, real or imagined, take nothing away from this album. The art that is produced is its own unique, viable, and wonderful creation. The musicianship is remarkable, the lyrics heartfelt and evocative.<\/p>\n

From what can be gathered, it seems that this album is just the first of a series of albums to come from Mad at the World, expressing different eras of their sound in new and fresh ways. This sounds like an exciting prospect, and this album definitely enthuses one for future releases, and encourages a delving into their past material.<\/p>\n[2017\u00a0Hindenburg Records | Purchase: hindenburgrecords.bandcamp.com<\/a>]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Roger and Randy Rose from Mad at the World are back at it, with a powerful re-visit of their early synth-heavy albums. Being a fan of MatW and of good synth work, their album Hope fails to disappoint. The synth … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":561,"featured_media":2312,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[24,484],"tags":[486,63],"class_list":["post-2311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music-review","category-october-2018","tag-hindenburg-records","tag-mad-at-the-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/561"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2311"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2313,"href":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2311\/revisions\/2313"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}