The Hope Slide (band)

The Hope Slide
Origin Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Genres Dream pop
Shoegaze
Electronica
Years active 2008present
Labels Submerged
Associated acts Hinterland
Way to Go, Einstein
Website The Hope Slide
Members Michaela Galloway
John Lucas

The Hope Slide is a Canadian band formed in 2008 in Vancouver. The Hope Slide is named after the Hope Slide, a rock slide that occurred early in the morning of January 9, 1965.[1]

History

The Hope Slide's self-titled debut album, released September 28, 2010 on Submerged Records, is something of a concept album befitting the band’s chosen name. The songs deal with disasters and upheavals of all kinds, including the ill-fated Franklin Expedition ("Passage"), the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911 ("In Ashe"), the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, and the impact of the Chernobyl disaster on the surrounding ecosystem ("Red Forest"). "In Ashe" was inspired by a landmark event in the history of workers’ rights, "Parish" confronts the U.S. government's failed response to Hurricane Katrina, and "Topple the Sky" deals with the 2009–2010 Iranian election protests.

Writing in the Brock Press, Marshal Hignett described The Hope Slide as "an astounding debut release which is bound to have a tremendous impact on the Canadian electronic scene in the future." [2] The British blog indie-mp3.co.uk noted that the duo's music is "not shoegaze in it’s classic sense but is more in line with the ambient electrical stuff put out by the likes of M83 and Ulrich Schnauss."[3] SlowdiveMusic Blog called the album "a journey through grandiose soundscapes, overwhelming undertows, and brilliant craftsmanship", declaring it "the dreampop/shoegaze monument of the year".[4]

The Hope Slide's members, Michaela Galloway (vocals, Moog) and John Lucas (guitar, bass, keyboards, beats), were formerly in Hinterland, a band that, through its eight-year, three-album run, consistently made the Canadian college-radio charts, performed all over the country (including on a nationally broadcast TV show), and generally built a cult following. Whereas Hinterland was a five-piece rock band, however, the Hope Slide leans more toward the electronic end of things, albeit with all the moody dream-pop atmospherics for which Lucas and Galloway are known.

On October 19, 2010, Submerged Records released The Hope Slide Remixed, a free five-song EP, featuring remixes by Vigestol (aka Geoff Nilson, formerly of Way to Go, Einstein), the Ludvico Treatment, Area Man, Sinewave, and Killsaly.

Members

Discography

References

  1. "Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment, Volume 16, Number 1". SpringerLink. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  2. SlowdiveMusic (2010-12-26). "SlowdiveMusic Blog: The Hope Slide: "The Hope Slide"". Slowdivemusic.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2012-03-19.

External links