Hope of the States

Hope of the States

Hope of the States are a group from Chichester, United Kingdom, active between 2000 and 2006. They form from teenage experiments by childhood friends Sam Herlihy, Anthony Theaker and James Lawrence, and begin as a university band with drummer Simon Jones and violinist Mike Siddell. The line-up later includes permanent bassist Paul Wilson from 2002, and guitarist Michael Hibbert after the death of Jimmi Lawrence in 2004.

Style and name

The band work in post-rock and indie rock, and are also described as classic pop and rock and alternative rock. Their name comes from Albert Deutsch’s 1948 report on the US mental health system. They move away from earlier Mansun and Britpop pastiches toward a sound that combines songs and hooks with post-rock influences associated with groups such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

Recordings and career

Sam Herlihy’s development deal with Parlophone Records gives the group access to ambitious and costly instrumentation. Their release history begins with the instrumental The American Revolution on Hermetech Records in 2002, followed by the limited single Black Dollar Bills in 2003. That single sells out quickly and leads to festival appearances in the UK and a multi-album deal with Sony and Columbia Records.

The single Enemies/Friends appears in 2003, before the intended album release is delayed after Jimmi Lawrence’s death in January 2004. The band then record and tour new experimental material under the name Thee Dust Rackets and return four months later with The Lost Riots and the UK Top 15 single The Red The White The Black The Blue. Another single, Nehemiah, reaches number 30 in the UK.

During 2005 the group writes and demos material for a second album, much of which is issued to fans as free Dust Rackets releases and through YouSendIt downloads. They then record Left with Ken Thomas. The limited edition EP Blood Meridian is released in 2006, followed by the single Sing It Out, which reaches number 39 in the UK. The album Left does not enter the UK top 40, and the band split up later in 2006 after releasing the single Left. Their final concert takes place at the Reading and Leeds Festival.

Aftermath

After the split, members go on to work in projects including ambient electronic/post-rock group Troubles, Sam Herlihy’s solo project Blocks, DJs CERN, Tim and Sam’s Tim and the Sam Band With Tim And Sam and The Deirdres, Sons of Noel and Adrian, and indie rock act The Northwestern.