Andrew McCubbin and the Hope Addicts

1am Records/AmpHead; September 2007

Since briefly flirting with indie pop alongside Pete Stone and Kate Kelly, Andrew McCubbin has become an advocate of more contemplative musical musing. Here, McCubbin presents an array of gritty-stringed melancholia that has captured both the attention and imagination of the critics, but has yet to thrust the outfit into the national spotlight. But if ever a record proved a band worthy of the limelight, then surely it is the group’s latest offering, Blue. From the pulsing and breathy beauty of “Slip,” to an elegant cover of David Bowie’s “The Prettiest Star,” McCubbin & Co. push and pull with felicitous servitude. The title track hacks away with a furious longing, while the gentle refrain of guitar and cello weeps in unified sympathy throughout “Since You Left”all of which ensures that Blue is a wondrous and emotive journey for those addicted to both hope and despair.