Mean everything to nothing (Mean Everything To Nothing - Manchester Orchestra)

Member Name: thrice15

Product:	Mean Everything To Nothing - Manchester Orchestra
Date:	11/07/09 (4 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Solid follow up to debut

Disadvantages: Leaves a feeling that the album could have achieved more

With Manchester Orchestra's debut album 'I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child' receiving positive press from most sources, it was always going to be a challenge for them making their 'difficult second album'. In some places, 'Mean Everything to Nothing' reaches and surpasses what the debut album achieved, but in some places, the album feels somewhat weaker than what went before it.

The band have done themselves no harm in promoting their new songs to a larger audience, with opening track 'The Only One' recently featuring on American TV programme 90210. Two and a half minutes of perfect pop rock, this is one of the most accessible introductions to the band, and signals a broadening of their sound to accommodate the listening needs of a popular music fan. Accessibility is a feature of 'Mean Everything to Nothing' that wasn't necessarily missing from the debut album, but from an outsider's perspective, the opening stages of this album provide an easy first listen for new Manchester Orchestra fans.

Vocalist and primary song-writer of the band Andy Hull is an emotional focal point of the band with his lyrics and passion evident on every track. Devotion to their music is something that Manchester Orchestra evidently have, the strain put into each section of each song is audible, with Hull's vocals breaking as he reaches new heights and new sensitive lows to fit the requirements. 'Shake it Out' is a beautiful song, showcasing all of the previous sentence in one track, as the song parts towards the end with a soft moment followed by a charged ending of simple ringing chords and charged vocals.

The most tender moment of the album comes in the form of 'I Can Feel a Hot One'. As mentioned previously, the band have formed a good relationship with American dramas, with this song featuring on Gossip Girl. Many bands would have been criticised for this, but such a song as this deserves as much exposure as it can possibly get. The song expresses itself best when the piano and drum accompanied verses add to a softly built up introduction. The lyrics are soaked in so much personal emotion that is hard not feel moved at times during this song. The only problem with having a song as strong as this in the middle of the album is that the following songs may not receive as much credit as they would have done places else where. 'My Friend Marcus' is a good song, in particular the lyrical chorus sections 'Now I can see, you mean everything to nothing', but there is a feeling that the song could have been made stronger in part.

The highlights of the album come in the form of 'I've Got Friends' and 'Tony the Tiger', which both effectively showcase how to effectively apply simple lyrics to a song to make it memorable. The former demonstrates another side of Manchester Orchestra that differs from their approach on 'I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child', as there is a much more aggressive side to the music rather than just the vocals. Both drive each other on, and the only disappointment is that this side of the band is never really again unleashed on the remainder of the album. Closing track 'The River' is equally powerful and beautiful again, and is Manchester Orchestra at their best.

'Mean Everything to Nothing' is certainly an album that grows after further listens, and is in fact a very good album. The only problem is that feeling of something missing at the end of the album, which was never present with the first album. The songs sound as if they will also transfer better into a live environment, so it will be interesting to see their live performances promoting this album and also to see the older material played again.

Summary: Solid follow up, with some minor flaws