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Hockey's debut, Mind Chaos, was initially going to be released by Sony Records -- the band even got as far as reworking some of its demos in the studio with producer Jerry Harrison -- but the album's fate was left in limbo when the label dropped the band. Mind Chaos got a new lease on life when Hockey's songs made their way to BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe, whose championing of the strutting "Learn to Lose" helped earned the band another major-label deal. It's easy to hear why two big labels were interested in Mind Chaos; Hockey's angular basslines, chugging guitars, and washy keyboards call to mind tried and true, new wave-tinged acts like the Strokes, OK Go, and the Killers. For most of the album, they don't stray far from this style, and considering that they had been around for a while before Mind Chaos's 2009 release, they sound effective, but not especially fresh. Most of the band's character resides in Ben Grubin's raspy vocals, which lie somewhere between a young Rod Stewart and the Strokes' Julian Casablancas, and his surprisingly smart lyrics. He's nothing if not self-aware: Grubin sings about writing "a truthful song over an '80s groove" on the Cars-like "Song Away," the only Harrison-produced song that ended up on Mind Chaos' final version.
Condition:New. Marked upc
TRACK LISTINGS
1 Too Fake 4:07
2 3 A.M. Spanish 4:09
3 Learn to Lose 3:51
4 Work 5:04
5 Song Away 3:18
6 Curse This City 4:30
7 Wanna Be Black 3:51
8 Four Holy Photos 3:31
9 Preacher 4:41
10 Put the Game Down 5:40
11 Everyone's the Same Age 2:55
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