Hopewell's albums haven't always been consistent, but the band has always had honorable intentions and an attractive sound, one that owes a lot to the psychedelic rock and space rock of the 1960s and '70s while remaining relevant to alternative pop/rock and indie rock. Sure, it would have been easy for
Hopewell to simply emulate the past and be a likable exercise in nostalgia; instead, they demonstrate that a band indebted to
Pink Floyd,
the Velvet Underground,
the Moody Blues ELO, and post-1965
Beatles can also be into
Radiohead and
Jane's Addiction. And even when their recordings missed the mark,
Hopewell was still a group that deserved respect. Good Good Desperation never misses the mark, though -- in fact, this 2009 release is one of
Hopewell's more consistent albums, as all of the pieces fall into place nicely. There are no weak or unsuccessful tracks on this CD; whether they are being influenced by
Jane's Addiction (minus
JA's more metallic qualities) or
Pink Floyd and
the Beatles,
Hopewell's ideas always pay off this time. Good Good Desperation won't necessarily win over myopic individuals who have no use for alternative rock and insist that nothing worthwhile was recorded after the '80s, but then, people who fit that description aren't
Hopewell's audience.
Hopewell never pretended to be a
Pink Floyd cover band; rather, they always turned to different rock areas for creative inspiration, and that approach yields consistently appealing results on Good Good Desperation. ~ Alex Henderson