Hope Of the States, etc

Hope of the States were great, right? The Lost Riots is one of my all-time favourites

So there is this label called Lost Music Club who have just released an album by Dark Houses, which is the first post-HOTS project by Sam and Simon and Paul from HOTS (with help from Mike Siddell) which was recorded immediately after HOTS split back whenever it was. It was sat on a hard drive for 10 years or so before being released last week. I wasn’t expecting a huge amount, but, it is everything I hoped it would be as a Hope of the States fan. Horns, strings, ‘choirs’. It’s great, been listening to it all weekend.

Anyway. as there wasn’t a thread on here I thought perhaps people who might be interested weren’t aware of it…

There is a link to the album here…(apparently it is tagged wrong)

and also the website here to order the album

Anyway, this is a threat to discuss Hope of the States and any post-HOTS projects like Troubles, which was also excellent. And Racetrack Gospel which had potential to be great but never went further than a bunch of Demos

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Absolutely loved and still love The Lost Riots. One of the first times I ever had the experience of wandering into a tent at a festival (V Festival 2004 lol) with no idea who or what was playing and falling in love. The Black Amnesias absolutely blew my mind and I think I probably chucked it on 95% of my media studies/film projects throughout my adolescence.

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Only got my copy yesterday so only got to listen once last night.
It’s fucking brilliant. Was expecting it to be just a scrappy collection of demos really but no it’s a full on proper studio album and more or less akin to a 3rd HOTS album. Maybe a bit more upbeat and more straightforward than the two HOTS albums but pretty great. Also like that there’s essentially a ‘Christmas’ song of sorts on it as well. Good timing!
I went for the bundle so got the 7" lathe (only 25 made?) and handwritten and signed lyrics from Sam too. Also included though not advertised when I originally paid was a polaroid and camera negatives for what I’m guessing was potential artwork.
So aye at £16 I’m well pleased with the album and all the extras. A vinyl option would have been great but ah well.
Would be very good if the Racetrack Gospel stuff got a physical release through this label.
The only downside is that Sam and Simon never have (never will?) toured this album.

Need to check this out. Was annoyed the Racetrack Gospel stuff never got toured or put out properly, though running his restaurant is probably enough work for Sam.

If you’ve got a couple of hours to spare, Sam talking about the history of the band is pretty interesting: The StageLeft Podcast / Sam Herlihy - Hope of the States

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Looks like there’s some very interesting topics on discussion judging by the blurb on there. Definitely going to check this out. Thanks for the heads up :slight_smile:

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That podcast ^ is well worth a listen if you’ve any interest in HOTS. It brought back a lot of memories.

Really loving the the Dark Houses album too. Far better than I was expecting - genuinely uplifting and the production is fantastic.

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remember checking out hope of the states after “black dollar bills” got 10/10 on planet sound

great days

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Great shout

Brilliant interview, forgot how much I loved that band.

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I missed out on the bundle, but got one of the lathe cut singles (says out of 25 on mine, so yeah, reckon that’s the edition size)
been meaning to post this thread as yeah, the album is up there in AOTY territory for me & as you say a shame it’s not on vinyl. does mention drinking a lot on it mind.

did manage to pick up vinyl copies of both albums over the last few years. such a great band, many happy memories
there are a lot of people on here that used to post on the old halfway home.

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Oh wow - I just wandered into my dream thread! Can’t wait to listen to both the album and the podcast.

I loved this band - one of the first I truly obsessed over. The packaging (remember that?) for Lost Riots was unbelievable. I picked it up in a whsmith.

They got a pretty shit shake of it, all things considered.

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Saw their last ever show, on my birthday, cried my eyes out and had the time of my life.

That was it though. La fin.

I’m sure anything since has been fantastic, but I’ll go on just holding that special moment in my memory forever.

:slight_smile:

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Yer man Sam now owns this absolutely fantastic restaurant round the corner from my flat.

I still have the huge Lost Riots poster on the wall in my spare room that I got when I went to see the at The Cockpit in Leeds in 2004

Thanks dude, this was an interesting listen. Was really in to the Lost Riots and saw 'em a few times back then, but not really paid much attention since. Will defo check out some of Sam’s more recent stuff.

great listen, thanks

Enjoyed this, thanks. The death of Jimmy Lawrence was such a tragic thing for them to go through. That was a really honest interview.

Is the cover red with at-ali on it?

If so it’s on apple music

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It is, yeah.