HOPE FOR A MOURNING

Hope for a Mourning is an album that superbly mixes alternative elements with prog to form beautiful yet powerful songs that provide for some very sad and emotional moments. The single, and the opener of the album, Khandallah, is such a beautiful song with great lyrics, vocals, and piano that incorporates some gentle strings and sax. The chorus is so touching and this is definitely not the song you want to listen to on a warm, happy day, but none of the songs on the album are for that type of mood, really. Orca starts off very softly but a little before half way through it gets pretty dark and somewhat uneasy. It contains a section of repeating the line, "The good lord has his hand on me now" that slowly fades out, and then there is a brief build up and trumpet comes in strongly immediately followed by drums, and this provides for one of the best moments in the album and makes Orca another great song. The Hours is the shortest song and by far the least progressive, but it's a nice short and sweet song that is pretty enjoyable especially after the intense "Orca". And We Saw His Needs Through the Casket is another pretty dark song which is already shown through the title. It includes some powerful piano and a choir that emphasizes the creepy, haunting sound of the song. Yhwh is my favorite song on the album. It starts off soft like all of the songs do, and a couple minutes in, the guitar comes in with some angry strumming combined with unusual off-beat drumming that sounds so cool. The vocals come in just as strongly and then it transitions into a quiet excerpt only to finish the song off even angrier than before. The title track is my other favorite. The lead vocals are matched with a woman's back-up vocals from which we heard in Khandallah and probably in the choir. She has a gorgeous voice and it is perfectly matched with the lead. The harmonies are extraordinary throughout the entire song. The beginning starts with piano backed with some deep notes from the cello. Then the acoustic and drums hit simultaneously and it's backed by some great trumpet. I love the melody and harmony in this song and it's another beauty. Funeral is the longest song at a little above eleven and a half minutes. This song is pretty interesting and literally sounds like a story is being told. Like "And We Saw His Needs Through the Casket," the vocals are very monotone and is almost just talking. However, In "Funeral" there are drums, but only starting a little before the six minute mark. Monarch kind of sounds like Khandallah, but more dark. It doesn't feature any drums which is common throughout the album and replaces them with some heavy strings and even some clarinet. This song is much more powerful than one might think and needs a few listens to have the message sink in. And to me, even without the lyrics, the song sounds like the end of something that could have been great. The lyrics on this album are excellent and often depressing, but in a good way. The instrumentation is piano driven and lacks a normal amount of drums as many parts in the songs do not include drums and three songs are completely without them. This is no problem whatsoever as Mice on Stilts uses this to their advantage to emphasize the amazing piano and vocals bolstered from the back-up of thorough string sections and occasional but wonderfully used brass. Hope for a Mourning is truly an album of supreme beauty, and it shows this through melancholy and dark moments that provide for a pleasurable listen.