There's something quite nostalgic about We Live In Hope, the fourth album from Last Days of Rome, the solo project of Jon Behrendt. My immediate thoughts when putting it on were "I like the vocals and he sounds very British", followed by "in fact, this sounds like the kind of thing that would have come out in the UK in the late 90s". You know what I mean? That post-Britpop post-Radiohead slightly melancholy indie rock like Travis and Coldplay (before they became Coldplay, I hope Jon isn't going to be upset by that comparison, I have a soft spot for their first two records).
Anyway, this is an album that feels like it comes from that time and has a lot of the same influences, like Radiohead, like REM, and I'm also getting a whiff of The Smiths and The Cure, and even The Lemonheads. The result is something that sounds very listenable, even pleasant, on occasion leaving me wishing for something that had a little more bite to it.
But the album is what it is and I think through that lens there's a lot to really enjoy here. I really do think Jon's voice is great. There's a weariness to it, while still being quite impressive in its range and distinctive timbre. The opening track, Signal-To-Noise is a highlight. There's a sleepiness to its tempo, with a really strong rhythm section supporting the vocals. I also really enjoyed the radio-sounding sample towards the end, it all creates an atmosphere that I really enjoyed.
There are a couple more upbeat tracks, too, like the Nothing Extraordinary and Progress. The latter is a banger, really. For a lot of this album I found myself wishing for a track like this, if I'm honest. There are a lot of mid-tempo clean guitar indie songs on this album and that's fine but when a fast(-ish) song with big fuzzy guitars come along I lapped it up.
Other highlights for me were the Hustle, which has a this great bridge which acts a great change of pace, and then a couple darker tracks like Halfway Home, with vocals that rival Ian Curis, and Not On My Time, which has a really killer riff during the verses.
It's a good album overall, but things feel a little off balance. I've spoken mostly about my favourite tracks but there's more of the soft sweet tracks than there are of the upbeat or scuzzier ones. That's often how I felt about those post-Britpop bands, too, so it is likely a taste thing as much as anything. Still, despite that, it's a decent indie pop album that's pretty easy to recommend.