Album Review: The Hotelier - 'Home, Like Noplace Is There'

With a name and album artwork as ambiguous and melancholic as 'Home, Like Noplace Is There', you'll easily dismiss The Hotelier's second album as another one of those cruddy new-wave emo albums that's been popping up like weeds. Well don't. Please, for the love of God don't.

From the tender, melodic and emotional gripping opener of 'An Introduction To the Album' that crescendos into a heart wrenching conclusion, to the fast punk infused 'Life in Drag', 'Home...' Is something of a marvel. It deals with all the best sides of classic emo with such precision and care that it never fails to miss that sonic-sweet-spot.

The guitars are always there to gently move the songs along no matter the tempo. They serve as the driving force in the sound-bed, which underlies the lethargically beautiful vocal melodies that deliver emotion line after line; seamlessly focusing on delivery as opposed to technique.

On tracks like 'Your Deep Rest' and 'Housebroken', the two best tracks on this nine piece wonder,  The Hotelier prove they can tick all the boxes. These two songs have these soaring and beautiful melodies and riffs through guitars and vocals that make your eyes water with sheer amazement while the rhythm section creates this strong backdrop that the vocals and guitars can bounce off.

Combine this with personal and tear-jerking lyricism about loss, introversion and confinement of life and you are staring down the barrel of an album-of-the-year contender.

Lethargically beautiful, passionately emotional and melodically captivating, 'Home, Like No Place Is There' is one of the best albums you'll hear in a long time. It soars along, whether at a slow, mid-tempo or screaming pace, leaving tear stains, joy and amazement in its tracks. With enough press, The Hotelier can lead this emo-revival to the heights that its fans are waiting for.

1. An Introduction To The Album 
2. The Scope Of All Of This Rebuilding 
3. In Framing 
4. Your Deep Rest 
5. Among The Wildflowers 
6. Life In Drag 
7. Housebroken 
8. Discomfort Revisited
9. Dendron