Album review: Hundred Reasons – Glorious Sunset

Hundred Reasons should have ended with a bang, not a whimper. Instead, having revitalised British rock in the early-’00s, a disjointed fourth album (Quick The Word, Sharp The Action) and some music industry nonsense stalled their career so badly they didn’t even split up properly.

Since fizzling out in 2007, there have been occasional, joyous reunion shows, but no sign of new music. Until now. And, while the album title suggests a coda rather than a fresh start, Glorious Sunset is staggeringly good either way, serving as their most satisfying record since classic 2002 debut, Ideas Above Our Station.

Not that it attempts to simply replicate those heady days. Their blistering post-hardcore sound is still in here, but it’s now tempered by experience and a willingness to experiment rarely found in bands merely looking to revisit past glories.

There are hints of electronica, even a full strings-and-piano ballad (Replicate). They still stir up a furious wasps’ nest of guitars on the compellingly intense It Suits You and New Glasses. But they’re now more linear about it, allowing the sheer, melodic muscle of songs such as Wave Form and The Old School Way to shine.

Lyrically, like your dad when you get in trouble at school, they now sound less angry, more disappointed, as Colin Doran comes to terms with loss and life. But, unlike your dad, Hundred Reasons still rock pretty hard. And these songs are so irresistible, they could yet turn everything around, if that’s what they want.

Only time will tell if this brilliant record really represents the final sinking of the sun, or a brave new dawn. Regardless, Glorious Sunset is the big bang Hundred Reasons’ greatness has always deserved.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: Hell Is For Heroes, You Me At Six, Jimmy Eat World

Glorious Sunset is released on February 24 via SO

Read this: Remembering when Britrock ousted nu-metal and took over the world