Hope Of The States

The three longtime friends Sam Herlihy on vocals and guitar, Anthony Theaker on guitar, and James Lawrence on guitar spent their formative years in the market town of Chichester in West Sussex, England, during the late 1980s and early 1990s. They filled their time by immersing themselves in the latest wave of Britpop acts. Paul Wilson joined on bass during their mid-teens and further broadened their musical interests. Around then Herlihy and Wilson obtained a development deal with Parlophone, though it came down to pure chance. They would cut classes to lay down material at Abbey Road Studios, yet both lacked the insight and guidance needed to shape a distinctive sound of their own. Several years later, after gaining experience and perspective, they launched Hope of the States in 2000. The name came from Albert Deutsch’s 1948 book The Shame of the States, a provocative examination of the shortcomings in the U.S. mental health system. Military uniforms became part of their image to reflect the tight bond among the members while also underscoring society’s frequent indifference toward others. Hope of the States deliberately avoided alignment with mainstream pop acts such as Coldplay, Travis, and Mansun, though their outlook shared more common ground with the political stance of Manic Street Preachers than they initially recognized.

By that stage Mike Siddell had come in on violin and Simon Jones on drums, rounding out the six-piece lineup that developed a rock sound drawing from post-Radiohead influences. The limited-edition single “Black Dollar Bills” appeared in summer 2003 and sold out at once, securing the band slots at the Glastonbury, Reading, and Leeds festivals. A contract with Sony arrived in June, and by autumn the single “Enemies/Friends” reached number 25 on the U.K. singles chart. Momentum built as the group began tracking its debut album with producer Ken Thomas, noted for his work with Sigur Rós. January 2004 brought the sudden suicide of Lawrence. The remaining members chose to continue, resulting in the October release of The Lost Riots. The limited-edition Blood Meridian EP followed in April 2006 and sold out rapidly, setting the stage for the more ambitious second album, Left. After strong performances at the Carling Reading and Leeds festivals in summer 2006, Hope of the States ended speculation by confirming their split in late August.