Hope Downs is the debut studio album by the Australian indie rock band Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever. It was released on 15 June 2018, through Sub Pop, which peaked at No. 24 on the ARIA Albums Chart.[3] The title refers to the Hope Downs mine, which, according to the band, "refers to the feeling of standing at the edge of the void of the big unknown, and finding something to hold on to".[4] The songs in the album generally have a theme of being alone.[5] Critic Andy Cush says the album presents serene environments, calling it a "brief vacation".[6]

Hope Downs
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 15, 2018 (2018-06-15)
GenreIndie rock,[1] jangle rock[2]
Length35:17
LabelSub Pop
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever chronology
The French Press
(2017)
Hope Downs
(2018)
Sideways to New Italy
(2020)

Reception

edit
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.8/10[7]
Metacritic84/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [9]
The A.V. ClubA−[10]
The Independent     [11]
The Irish Times     [12]
Mojo     [13]
Pitchfork8.1/10[2]
Q     [14]
Rolling Stone     [15]
Uncut9/10[16]
ViceB+[17]

Hope Downs received universal acclaim in reviews from critics. Juan Edgardo Rodriguez of No Ripcord[1] and Simon Vozick-Levinson of Rolling Stone praised the high quality of all of the songs.[15] Critic Adam Turner-Heffer of Under the Radar wrote "perhaps the only disappointment here is that their sound doesn't feel particularly expanded upon in the long-player format". Despite this, Turner-Heffer considers Hope Downs an impressive debut album.[18]

Track list

edit
No.TitleLength
1."An Air Conditioned Man"4:51
2."Talking Straight"3:44
3."Mainland"4:14
4."Time in Common"2:04
5."Sister's Jeans"3:16
6."Bellarine"2:54
7."Cappuccino City"2:54
8."Exclusive Grave"3:46
9."How Long?"3:06
10."The Hammer"4:28

Accolades

edit
Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Paste US The 50 Best Albums of 2018[19] 2018 8
NME UK NME’s Albums of the Year 2018[20] 2018 18

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Rodriguez, Juan Edgardo (14 June 2018). "Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever Hope Downs". No Ripcord. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  2. ^ a b Berman, Stuart (15 June 2018). "Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever: Hope Downs". Pitchfork. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  3. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Hope Downs". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  4. ^ Russell, Scott (10 April 2018). "Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever Announce Long-Awaited Debut Album, Hope Downs". Paste. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  5. ^ Schatz, Lake (15 June 2018). "Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever premiere debut album, Hope Downs: Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  6. ^ Cush, Andy (18 June 2018). "Vacation Never Ends on Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever's Sparkling Hope Downs". Spin. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  7. ^ "Hope Downs by Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  8. ^ "Hope Downs by Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  9. ^ Sendra, Tim. "Hope Downs – Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  10. ^ Garner, Marty Sartini (15 June 2018). "Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Hope Downs". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  11. ^ Kaplan, Ilana; Goggins, Joe (13 June 2018). "Christina Aguilera Liberation review: New album is everything diehard fans could want, but there are misses among the hits". The Independent. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  12. ^ Sweeney, Eamon (15 June 2018). "Rolling Blackouts CF: Hope Downs review – A near-perfect debut". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  13. ^ Cameron, Keith (18 June 2018). "Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Hope Downs". Mojo. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  14. ^ Mongredien, Phil (Summer 2018). "Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever: Hope Downs". Q (387): 114.
  15. ^ a b Vozick-Levinson, Simon (14 June 2018). "Review: Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever's Indie-Rock Marvel 'Hope Downs'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  16. ^ Jones, Allan (26 June 2018). "Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Hope Downs". Uncut. Archived from the original on 26 June 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  17. ^ Christgau, Robert (18 August 2018). "Robert Christgau on Methodist Hospital's Goofy Apocalypse". Vice. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  18. ^ Turner-Heffer, Adam (15 June 2018). "Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever Hope Downs". Under the Radar. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  19. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2018". Paste. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  20. ^ "Best albums of the year 2018". NME. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2019.