Philadelphia Grand Jury -Hope Is For The Hopeless

Thu 11th Nov, 2010 in Music Reviews

By now most people would have enjoyed the rough and tumble of Philadelphia Grand Jury’s debut album Hope Is For The Hopers and in particular, the blues-infused punk rock of anthems Going To The Casino (Tomorrow Night), Ready To Roll and The Good News. Now fresh from their success abroad, the group have given the record a new name, Hope Is For The Hopeless and a rework. They’ve rejigged the original songs, added some extra tracks and a bonus DVD; have new cover art and a new drummer to boot, Susie Patten from I Heart Hiroshima.

Their latest song, Save Our Town slots in nicely in the middle of the original music, as do the seven bonus tracks tapped onto the end because these build upon the already punchy and solid sounds we’ve come to expect from these guys. Dotty, No! is pure AC/DC guitar rock while The Test is a blues romp. The Mike Fwd remix of Wet Winter Holiday transforms things from nostalgic pop to a dance hit-in-the-making and the cover of Jay-Z’s 99 Problems is all fuzzy power chords and wailing vocals.

The bonus DVD – The Philly Jays House Party Special # 2 – is a short, sharp concert much like their powerful debut and like a square kick in the teeth. It’s a real lo-fi affair from venue choice to the fact the footage was filmed on tiny camcorders without any troublesome polish to pretty up the proceedings. At times this means it’s quite raw in presentation and has a real bootleg feel and I’ll admit I’ve actually seen better quality bootlegs (both visually and sound-wise) but surely this was to be expected and simply adds to the DIY house party atmosphere. The outing is probably the last chance you’ll get to see Calvin Welch at the drum kit. As always he rouses the audience by shaking and stirring the proverbial pot, providing fabulous beats and brimming with enthusiasm.

The gig looks like one chaotic party party with Berkfinger playing like a bobble-head Muppet swaying and squealing his vocals and sneering behind his glasses. MC Bad Genius does his best Pete Townshend impersonation doing windmills on bass and doing his best to explore every nook and crevice on the tiny stage. The audience joins in with the shambles, hitting stray drums, dancing like loons and playing real and air guitars. There was of course plenty of raw riffs, crazy woohoos and fist-pumping action through tracks like Ready To Roll, Going To The Casino (Tomorrow Night) and I Don’t Want To Party (Party) with the latter proving a fitting finale as 99 Problems was left on the cutting room floor.

With a facelift of sorts Hope Is For The Hopeless provides more of the catchy indie/garage rock we’ve come to expect from the group while adding a bunch of great new sweeteners. The good news is that this record ensures that their debut keeps on giving so crank it to eleven and party party like its 99 less problems to consider.