Music Reviews

My Hotel Year

The Composition of Ending and Phrasing

Beyond

For those of you who haven’t yet heard of My Hotel Year, you’re missing out on something good, or rather, something which has the potential to become really good. The Composition of Ending and Phrasing is MHY’s first full-length release, and for a start, it’s pretty impressive. The band’s bio compares them to Jimmy Eat World and Fugazi. I don’t really see where Fugazi comes in, but that’s just me. Personally, I’d say MHY is more of a mix between Jimmy Eat World, Mineral, and The Get Up Kids.

The Composition of Ending and Phrasing shows that MHY has a lot of potential. With a few more years under their belt, I can see them becoming the next big thing to hit the emo/alternative scene. The album starts off on a good note with the single, “6 a.m.” Yet after that, the next six songs play like background music and the album becomes slightly boring. Then, out of nowhere, track seven comes along and almost blows you away. The last seven songs on the album are next to incredible. They are neither original nor groundbreaking, but you hear them and you don’t know what hit you. Highlights include “Center Circle,” the quasi-ballad “What Color is Blue?,” and my personal favorite, “Key Exchange.”

The Composition of Ending and Phrasing leaves both little and much to be desired. MHY needs to grow into themselves as a band and develop their musical style, as all new bands do. At the same time, however, the second half of The Composition of Ending and Phrasing shows that the band has an extremely promising future. There are definite influences by Jimmy Eat World, and many of the tracks sound similar to JEW’s older songs. If MHY continue along this same path, they should be touring the world and selling albums by the millions in just a couple of years.

I recommend supporting MHY and picking up a copy of The Composition of Ending and Phrasing. When they’re famous, you can say you remember them back when…

Beyond Records: http://www.beyondmusic.com • My Hotel Year: http://www.myhotelyear.com


Recently on Ink 19...

Creation Rebel

Creation Rebel

Features

High Above Harlesden 1978 - 2023 from On-U Sound collects 60 dub and reggae tracks from Creation Rebel, an astounding set of musicians.

The Valiant Ones

The Valiant Ones

Screen Reviews

One of the last of the classic wuxia swordplay films stands as a fitting coda to the grand period of the genre. Phil Bailey reviews a new Blu-ray release of the 1975 film The Valiant Ones.

Best of Five

Best of Five

Screen Reviews

Not everyone can be excited by blocks spinning on a screen, but if you are, Ian Koss recommends you pay attention to Best of Five.

CAKE

CAKE

Event Reviews

Jeremy Glazier shoots a CAKE headline show at McGrath Amphitheater.