The Hotelier - Home Like Noplace Is There

The Hotelier- Home, Like Noplace Is There. An emotive Reaction To An Emotive Record.

Albums such as Home, Like Noplace Is There arrive under cover of indie-grunge darkness, to little or no applause by the general music community. This is both tragic, and one of the factors that make the phenomena so beautiful. To infuse a recording with such raw emotion - such honest , close to the blade small town truth is such a feat, I am still in awe of how people as talented as the members of The Hotelier exist. And parallel to this , to have the album so unknown invokes the feeling of non-belief so powerful you want to hook the album up to the PA system in every train station, office block and stadium within a 100 mile radius and show the world; this is what they are missing.

Albums like this are made once a generation, the type of album that leaves you feeling nostalgic of things you have never experienced. The type of album that falls into place like it has always been, you listen to it and immediately feel it bond to you emotionally. This band are talented beyond their years, with intelligence and emotional insight that only comes through heartbreak and struggle. The album is a gem, one that I urge you all to listen to. This is the kind of album that reignites a passion for music and lyrics that occasionally lies dormant in creative souls such as mine. One cannot describe why this album is as existentially soul destroying as it is, because it is so much more than the sound of the music. It is the emotion imbued within the words, the way the music reflects this with such ingenuity you feel even without the lyrics the music would evoke a strong emotional response in the listener.

This album can be likened to Still by NOUNS , the sounds are completely different but they both contain so much emotion you feel heavy listening to them. Still starts with the line “I was raped at fourteen” , where as Home Like Noplace Is There starts with the line “ Open the curtains. Singing birds tell me "tear the buildings down.”” Both lines give you an immediate reaction, two different emotions but the reason I feel it is relevant to mention Still is because it gives you something to measure this album against.

This album is also full of political statements , although not immediately evident on first listen. on the track Housebroken, Holden talks to an abused dog , and in the song the dog responds "Master's all that I got, keeps me having a purpose, / Gives me bed keeps me fed, and I'm just slightly nervous / Of what I might do if I were let loose / If I caught that mail car or ate garbage for food, / So as I bear all my teeth, I will ask of you please / to just leave." . From this you get the feeling Holden is saying that some people are comfortable in their restraints, and that if all you have known is abuse you may not know how to escape and you certainly wouldn't know what to do if you did. This album has so many layers it is difficult to dissect, which is why i am not trying to too much. This album has become a part of me, so writing this review seems strangely personal. I think this is a fitting tribute to this album, because the entirety of the album is an emotional, personal reflection on past traumas and the effects there after. Atleast, this is what it says to me. Since Home Like Noplace Is There, The Hotelier have also released an album entitled Goodness, which is just as outstanding as Home Like Noplace Is There. You may be asking why I decided to write this now, it is simply because I don’t want this album to sink into the ether. I think it is a landmark album of the 21st century that is seriously under appreciated. My only hope is that the album gains a sort of post-band fame, such as American Football’s 1999, where it finally gets the recognition it deserves. If you have not listen to this album, do it now. pull closed the curtains, close your eyes and feel, pay attention closely and you may see what I see.