"How I stumbled onto this band is still a mystery to me. But, needless to say, I'm glad I did. Hundred Reasons is one of the finer bands to have emerged from the UK in the past few years. They mix hard rock with emo and metal to create, not an original, but a catchy sound. They originally started as an underground act opening for bands such as the Lostprophets, Kittie and Incubus; but have evolved into something much more - with mainstream status throughout Europe (let me mention that the UK's mainstream scene is nowhere near as bad as the US). They even landed a headlining slot on the Kerrang/Radio One stage of Ozzfest 2002 in Castle Donnington. Their frontman, Colin, is an incredible singer. His vocal chords are so flexible, even with his obvious accent. Their guitarist harmonizes with Colin - adding a new layer to the sound. Their drummer has such wonderful tuning and I love his work esp. on the second verse of "I'll Find You", where he changes the tempo just a little bit to add some excitement to the chorus that follows. This band has such incredible musicianship - a rarity of modern rock bands do, but Hundred Reasons manage to stray from the pack. The cleverly-titled Ideas Above Our Station kicks off with the aforementioned "I'll Find You", an anthemic opener with such an undeniable atmosphere - it's one of those songs to listen to on a bright sunny day in the car or at the beach. "Answers" follows, giving us a first taste of the band's moodier side. "Dissolve" is yet again, superb. The chorus is outstanding, and the guitars are tuned so perfectly, adding that emo edge I mentioned earlier. Eventually comes track 5, "If I Could", a beautiful mid-tempo that was the album's first and most successful single, and it's no surprise. But "Falter" has got to be the most breathtaking moment. One of the album's two ballads, "Falter" has a very layered chorus - it's also a very atmospheric song, and that guitar.....it's beautiful, My other favorites are fast-rocker "Drowning", emo-rocker "Silver" and the closing ballad "Avalanche". Perhaps the album's only weak points are the ridiculously short "Shine" and the Deftones-ish headbanger "Gone Too Far" which shows an experimental side of the band, but lacks the songwriting of previous tracks. Anyways, if you can find this CD and manage to buy it with its steep price, I truly believe it's worth it. I only wish one day they will come to America so I can see them live. If you like Hundred Reasons, you may also like: Muse, Feeder, Hell Is for Heroes, Biffy Clyro, and the American band Injected."
Guilty!
Oliver Ignatius | NY | 01/30/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Now this is what I call a guilty pleasure. With its shiny guitars, roaring vocals and stadium-ready melodies, this is the kind of stuff that indie rock was created as a rebellion against. But I stand by my judgement of Ideas Above Our Station as a damn good rock album, entirely unassuming, unpretentious and crucially exciting. Like At the Drive-In with all the rough edges sanded down, Hundred Reasons make a poppy, enjoyable rawk sound which anyone is encouraged to (secretly) check out."
UK Hardcore at it's best
Matt | UK | 12/03/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Now this....my friends...is good emo. Hundred Reasons burst onto the seen in May 2002 with this their debut album. The Surrey quintet actually come from near my town, it's great that the area can boast such an incredible talent coming from Twickenham. A lot of people has said that there are few good British bands out at the moment....Erm...well my friends...I suggest Hell is For Heroes, MUSE, Rueben, Biffy Clyro, Cave In, Ash, Feeder, Blur and The Stereophonics...Back to this LP...What a great record. Ideas Above Our Station is a fantastic erray of emo at its best. UK Hardcore has its new sons. The album opens with the 4 taps of Andy B's top hat and Larry and Paul crashing into those emo riffs that we all love. Andy G's expertise bass places compliments Colin Dorran's awesome vocals. His powerful voice is full of passion and angst and well...just makes you wanna jump around going mental. Answers and Dissolve follow, followed then by What Thought Did....in which Colin's incredible shrieking is...well incredible. He spits out lyrics and ends on "Yer!"...which sets the tone very nicely for the next track. If I Could....is absolutely get up off your butt and start jumping kinda stuff. The opening riff just sets the tone for the song. Rip Rawing bursts of energy, followed by beautiful vocals by Colin. Larry and Paul play brilliantly on this track. Quite a masterpiece. Then you have Falter...Falter along with Avalanche (track 12) are the only 2 slow songs on the album. And Colin has written brilliant lyrics to them. Simply beautiful music. Then amongst the last few tracks (Oratorio, Shine and Gone Too Far...which are all brilliant in there own right)...you have Silver....the bands most successful track. Brilliant guitar playing and Colin's keyboard skills shine through...yes keyboard. A quite astounding track. Gives Emo a really new sound. Also....Paul's vocals on Silver are brilliant.....really punky....but my favourite song on the album....is track 8.....Drowning.....Andy B's drum playing shines here. Brilliant playing and Colin is simply a genius. His vocals add sooo much life and stick a large middle finger up at...well....everything...In conclusion.....Brilliant Band, Brilliant Album, Hope to see another one soon. BUY THIS!"
Excellent debut-well worth the cash
biggreenhockey | hanover, nh usa | 02/03/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"this is truly an excellent album. i listened to it by chance when i was in an HMV in london this fall, and the blistering hook of "i'll find you" would have been enough to make me buy the album. i don't consider the album emo, it's more like straight up rock and roll, heavily influenced by the whole britrock scene of course. this band took england by storm at the reading festival, and it's only a matter of time before they hit it big over in the states. standout tracks: i'll find you, answers, if i could, oratorio"
Hey, this is not bad!
R. S. Tonder | uk | 11/01/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I grew up a teenager in the 90s listening to alternative music... These days I've seen the alternative scene changed into something I hardly can recognise as what used to be alternative. Anyways, the legacy of the "old" alternative sound still lives on in some of today's bands - how can it not? Just when I thought the UK could never really produce any decent alternative music bands but this is a surprise. I first heard Hundred Reasons' songs while surfing music channels late night and I was hooked. I have been ASSUMING this band must have their roots in America or are from America or something... but I was wrong. This is a British band. I'm really surprised. Hey, its not bad... the really strong tracks from this band have to be "Silver" and "If I Could", no doubt... but the other songs kind of grew and grew on me the more I listen to them. Songs like Avalanche, Truth With Elegance, Lullaby, Answers, are all some of my favourite songs from the band these days. Their music is different from the standard typical alternative band affair these days - it certainly isn't written in the old "A-B-A" style (i.e. First 8 lines - chorus - repeat first 8 lines) ... instead it sounds to me like these guys love fiddling around with harmonies, chords and mixing in some rather unusual, pleasantly discordant chords together with varying beats in the same song. Kinda like how Soundgarden used to write music. In fact, come to think of it... the wailing vocals are also kinda like Soundgarden... but I think someone else wrote a review saying that Colin's voice sounds more like the singer from The Killers. Fair enough. I totally agree. But I'm just thinking - the spirit of the music of Hundred Reasons - definitely has something of the old alternative feel to it - something that the older alternative legends used to be famous for in the 90s. The band members sound like they're pretty good at playing their instruments too - I cannot fault any one - their guitarists, their vocals, or their drummer for being sloppy. All of them are great and skillful at what they do. I'd love to see them live one of these days!"
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1