Manchester Orchestra
Mean Everything to Nothing

Release Date: 2009 | Tracklist

Is there anyone else besides me that *** themselves the first time they watched the video to, "Shake It Out," and realized that the decidedly earnest vocals were emanating from a giant, hairy hulk of a man? The brilliant and pained lyrics coming from someone who was bigger than both of his famous cohorts (Jesse Lacy and Kevin Devine, for those out of the know) combined. Yes, the first time I saw Andy Hull, I was quite shocked, actually almost giggled a bit. He certainly doesn't seem the type to be carrying with him such serious questions of faith and love.

The reason I bring this up is because I had a very similar reaction when listening to Mean Everything To Nothing, sans holding back any giggles. This wasn't the same man from Like A Virgin; on this album, he isn't crooning about wolves at night, he's howling and growling like a wolf out of hell over buzzsaw guitars that are positively seismic. This isn't the same Andy Hull, nor is it the same Manchester Orchestra. On this album, the tunes, like the man singing, screaming, whispering,and growling them, have some serious meat on their bones (pardon the pun.) Gone are the solemn interludes of soft acoustic guitars while Hull delicately ruminates; the sole interlude on this album, 100 Dollars, is downright menacing, in its vocals and lyrical content, and Hull absolutely tears it up. This is simply an album I never saw Manchester Orchestra making, but you know what? I loved every second of it.

It turns out the band can handle aggression just as deftly as they handled the indie-pop gems on Like A Virgin. From the catchy guitar that begins album opener The Only One, down to the soft lilting "hidden" track Jimmy, He Whispers, the album is a delight to listen to. The Only One is catchy and engagingly tongue-in-cheek. Shake It Out has a refrain that packs a palpable emotional punch and leads into a furious ending. I've Got Friends is the best of old and new Manchester Orchestra, being an insanely catchy and memorable indie-pop song that also has Hull howling at the moon. In My Teeth is another great song in this respect, even if it does ape Nirvana's Lithium. Pride and 100 Dollars are outright seething, Pride especially, with its huge foreboding guitars and loud cymbal crashes. Everything To Nothing starts out unengaging but makes up for it with an epic last 2 minutes.

Then there are the 2 tracks that transcend the rest of the album. I Can Feel A Hot One is almost uncomfortably affecting, with lyrics that are steeped in beautiful and provocative imagery but still plainly spell out tragedy. The music swells gorgeously but somehow it remains plaintive throughout, and Hull gives a chilling performance; the moments from, "the blood was dry," until the end of the song, make me quiver no matter how many times I press repeat. The other track is album closer(s) The River and Jimmy, He Whispers. The River is an absolute epic, Manchester Orchestra's cathartic gospel, with each band member pouring passion into the song and Hull giving a performance that is beautifully multi-faceted: His vocals in turn soar and turn to rough bellows of passion. And then after the glorious climax of The River, Jimmy, He Whispers softly comes in to end the album on a brilliant anti-thesis of The River: its beauty is in hushed tones unlike the previous tracks loud anguish, and it fades the album out on a haunting note.

With most classic ratings, the reviewer usually attributes the seal of perfection to the album being very personally important to them. While this album does in every respect illicit an emotional response from me, that is not why I have given it a classic rating. I simply find every song on this album to be enjoyable and worthwhile, no matter how many times I listen to them. Even the tracks I didn't mention are fun for me to listen and sing along to. This is an absolute mammoth of a record, and a very pleasing new side to Manchester Orchestra that they pull off masterfully. To part with one last pun, its an absolute audio feast for the listener.

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4.1 excellent

Rank: #84 for 2009