Music : The Trick to Life

Rating: - Hoosier think they sound like?
I really like the whimsical, slightly retro, ELO-inspired sound these lads create. I loved Goodbye Mr A and I liked Worried About Ray as singles so I was intrigued as to what the rest of the album would sound like.

The album as a whole is good, but not great. There are no other tracks which stand out to me, and it sounds rather generic, like a cross between ELO and The Feeling, which should be good, but this album does not really excite or inspire me, despite it being listenable.

---

Rating: - Awsome
this is a cd i believe everyone should have. the songs are consistently good throughtout the whole cd. from songs like 'goodbye mr A', 'cops and robbers' and 'worried about ray' to the less celibrated songs like 'the trick to life', the worst case senario' and 'every thing goes dark'. Plus for under £5 an absolute bargain.

---

Rating: - More great tunes
All right, I am a bit late off the mark with this review and, I have to be honest I only got this coz Tesco were flogging it cheap but I am glad I did. I put this in the cd player, sat back, and then jumped up for joy at the sheer energy that came from the speakers from this album. I am not saying it is wall to wall sunshine, but, nearly all of the tracks were upbeat and uplifting. A Sadness Runs Through Him was for me the only track that I did not really like that much, but that may just be me. This is Brit guitar pop at its best. It is funny that I picked this up at the same time as picking up The Clash singles album which was also going cheap too. Does that say anything, maybe, but I would urge you to at least give this a good listen and judge for yourself. An all round fine album.

---

Rating: - Terribly disappointing
After hearing "Worried About Ray" and "Goodbye Mr. A" I was quite excited about this album. I expected a bit of feel-good bouncy pop music, but those were easily the two best tracks. My high expectations probably contributed to my disappointment, but it wasn't a great album. Now I've listened to it a few times I'm not sure I'd even call it a good album. The singles have been overplayed, now when I hear those tracks I loved I have to change stations. It's an album I highly doubt I'll play for quite a long time.

---

Rating: - A whimsically fun and bizarre album
The Hoosiers, when first breaking onto the scene could only be described as weird, yet unique. They gave us a sound that we truly don't hear that much on todays pop music scene, they present originality and simplicity to their music. The lead singer Irwin Sparks has said in interviews that the band wanted to be known as an Indie band but they're not cool enough, but let me tell you when comparing the Hoosiers to other "Indie" bands on the scene at the moment they're quite easily the best at what they do. Sparks has also noted that the Hoosiers sound is a blend of all music genres and they have named it "Odd Pop" it's pop that's a bit odd.

Citing their inspirations as being The Cure, The Flaming Lips & XTC you can certainly see the inspiration when listening to the album as most every song has a completely different feel to it. My personal favourites of the album are the up beat songs such as Goodbye Mr. A and Cops & Robbers, but I most certainly love nearly all the songs on the album with the exception of Worst Case Scenario which in my opinion is the worst song on the album.

My Top 5

1. Cops & Robbers
2. Killer
3. Goodbye Mr. A
4. Worried About Ray
5. The Trick To Life

Brilliant album that should be owned by everybody with a light hearted look at music.