Album Review – To All The Glory We Never Had by The National Honor Society (2020) (Kocliko Records)
This blog’s label (Subjangle) has 5 ‘co-founders’. The term is really just used to described five cyber-mates who get together once a month or so and chat nonsense about music and ‘occasionally’ reach consensus about an act we might like the label to collaborate with.
Beth, our ‘Scottish correspondent’, adores The National Honor Society and wastes no opportunity to give them gushing praise and indeed regular air time on her Indie Lounge Radio Show and to be fair what is not to like about this Seattle based foursome?
In an album delineated by tempo shift, the more dynamic tracks such as Everybody Lives and Breathes, The Occupation, When We Ruled The School and Stand Down are a submerged, mulled version of The Treasures of Mexico. All rock filled jangle, but infinitely sweeter than their Medway contemporaries. This sound is a flexed muscle between much precious geniality.
However, the best of the album is found in the softer, diminished tempo of Crystalize, First Among Last, Never Gonna Make It Happen and Incredible. Such tracks have that Peter Hall quality about them, that suggest an outbreak of sophisti-pop is about to break out, in a crooning crescendo at any moment, if it was not tethered by a primary essence of irresistable, jangly indie-pop.
Smoother than silk on a shoeshine, this act could and should, grace those rare moments of peace you treasure so much.
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