Hopewell - The Notbirds EP

An unofficial teaser for an album due to hit early 2007, The Notbirds EP features collabs with Mercury Rev and The Silent League, plus a cover of Gene Clark's "With Tomorrow", and sees NYC's Hopewell ante up their pop potential without losing any of the psychedelic edge that's made them one of the Big Apple's most endearing bands as of late. Coming off the strong sophomore release The Birds of Appetite, former Mercury Rev roadie-turned-Hopewell brainchild Jason Russo leads his band down a path that the Flaming Lips should have taken this year, and while highly indebted to Coyne & Co., Hopewell are of a newer breed. The magnificence of the band may be lost on those who can't get beyond subtle similarities, but for those willing to listen a little harder and look a little deeper, they'll find that under the surface, these guys are a modern psychedelic rock wonder, putting the old fogies to shame and laying down blueprints for those to come. The EP's title track rocks the hardest of the bunch, with dazzling, spacy guitars crunching up against Russo's semi-coherent yelping, while the country-fied "Beautiful Targets" (feat. Mercury Rev) begins life with harmonized vocals and twangy acoustic guitars, then evolves into one of the greatest anthems of the year. The band's take on the Gene Clark track ends up sounding like an early Neil Young placed in modern times, as Russo's frail voice is incessantly on the verge of cracking into a million little pieces. Though only six tracks, The Notbirds EP sets up Hopewell's third record to be one of the most anticipated of the coming year, as well as increases the value of the band's back catalog. Now that Grandaddy is gone and the Lips are over the hill, it only makes sense for Hopewell to arrive in those bands' stead. [www.hopewell.tv]