NOT long after completing his work on The Lost Riots, guitarist Jimmi Lawrence killed himself.
The tragedy was made all the worse for his band mates because they had no idea what drove him to it.
To their credit, Hope Of The States decided to continue, going on to create one of the most stunning albums of the year. Its sheer scale, ambition and cinematic approach is a fitting epitaph to their lost friend.
Not since Radiohead has a band sounded so political, launching clever broadsides at US-led dominance and Blair's love affair with Bush. The Red The White The Black The Blue is a noisy, swirling epic with a thumping chorus that is unlikely to be used by the BBC as a soundtrack for The Queen's birthday celebrations.
The pounding drums on Black Dollar Bills are majestic and not unlike a euphoric Stone Roses moment, while next single Nehemiah is a stand-out anthem.
Updated: 08:27 Thursday, July 01, 2004
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