Manchester Orchestra

“I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child”

Grade: A

 

Manchester Orchestra has ripped pages from journal entries, literature and screenplays to create a masterful album that is ripe with angst and hope both lyrically and musically.

The band, who filled a slot on last summer’s Lollapalooza festival and will embark on a nationwide tour with a resurfaced Brand New, has produced an album beyond their years- with the members’ ages ranging from 17 to 20 years old. Manchester Orchestra may have taken notes from bands like Brand New; however, the band’s project, “I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child,” is awarded the prize Brand New would’ve coveted at this musical stage in their career.

The Atlanta- based five-piece comprised of front man Andy Hull, Chris Freeman on keys, guitarist Robert McDowell, bassist J Corley and drummer Jeremiah Edmond’s efforts bleed together to construct a solid effort that is compelling, visionary and coming-of-age.

Hull’s lyrical prowess combined with his vocal dexterity allow for his words to flawlessly fall from his mouth onto the foundation built by Corley and Edmonds and accentuated by the embellishments Freeman and McDowell add to the exterior.

The album takes off with “Wolves At Night” and transitions from Hull’s anxiety to a sugary sweet moment of relief as he admits “I’ll try something, try nothing, try anything.”

The album shifts fluidly between songs consisting of larger-than-life rock orchestration like on “Now that You’re Home” to confessional moments that exhibit just what Hull is capable of vocally such as “I Can Feel Your Pain.”

“Where Have You Been?” is the moment on the record that changes everything. The band instinctively places the instrumental puzzle pieces in a manner that fits almost too well. Freeman’s keys haunt the song as the guitar pushes through the epic moments Edmonds creates as Hull delivers his anthem as declares, “I can hardly see what’s in front of me these days and those days too.”

Songs like “I Can Barely Breathe” and “Golden Ticket” highlight the band’s musical capabilities as they effortlessly evolve from sparkling guitar work that become muddied as Hull’s lyrical expiation guides the songs.

“I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child” is an impressive work from, what may seem like, a fledgling band. However, their live shows alone have enough inertia behind them to propel them to a status beyond what similar bands have achieved.

Hull sums the album as he wails “we can’t believe without bleeding” on the last track “Colly Strings.” And “I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child” has Manchester Orchestra’s blood, sweat and tears in the musical framework they have built creating a telling album able to encapsulate the emotions of crossing the threshhold of adulthood in a way that even Holden Caulfield would be able to relate to.

— Jess Peregoy, managing editor