Album Review: Hotel Ahead - Spend The Weekend

Hotel Ahead are a indie rock duo made up of Matthew Murray and Colin Wright from Chicago. 'Spend The Weekend' is the bands debut and is 10 songs filled with upbeat songs and great melodies.

The album's title track opens the record, which is a rough acoustic number. Nevertheless things soon pick up with 'Look Back and Laugh' with its simple beat and twirling guitar riff that is led by Murray's superb vocals.

As the album progresses, you realise Hotel Ahead have a talent for writing catchy indie rock songs that is reminiscent of The Anniversary. The best example of this is 'Days In The Sun' a well-paced and all-round fun song.

Other highlights include 'We Speak' and 'Friday Nights', both which continue the bands characteristic of writing upbeat, catchy songs that will grow on you. However you feel you have heard it all before and after a few listens of the whole record, you become bored and finding yourself skip through some tracks, such as 'Best Friends Love'; which sounds a lot of like a Jimmy Eat World song but not at their very best and 'Hour or Two'.

'Spend The Weekend' is not a bad record but it's not good, it's just mediocre. Hotel Ahead can write good songs but their music could be better, as at times it can be a bit dull and uninspiring. However the bands talent for writing catchy songs, shows they have the potential to do something great in the future.

2/5

Sean Reid