Joe Tripp and the Hops - 6 Songs

Joe Tripp and the Hops - 6 Songs

2014, Joe Tripp and the Hops

When we last heard from The Hops it was 2011 and they were promoting their EP Won’t It Be Fun.  With an interesting sound built around instrumental interplay, the band was going somewhere.  They went on to be named one of Chicago’s top bands in 2012 (Illinois Entertainer), as well as garnering Best Indie Rock song (“The Walk”) on ourstage.com in February, 2012.  In the time since, The Hops have undergone a major personnel transformation, with original vocalist/bassist Patrick Tinning and guitarist Cullin Kress (Endeavor) departing.  Drummer TJ Walker met up with Joe Tripp, and the two have carried on as Joe Tripp and the Hops, and have a new EP entitled 6 Songs. 

The EP takes flight with "Signs", an energetic mess of funk, pop and classic rock. The full bodied sound could be cleaned up a bit, but there's an exuberance in the music that makes this easy to overlook.  The vocals are layered with distortion and effects, which detracts from the enjoyment a bit, but on the whole it's a solid start. "Let Go" is a fit-to-form pop song with Lo-Fi sensibilities and a wonderfully variable rhythm structure. Joe Tripp and the Hops slow things down for the pining ballad "Heart Cries Out". The vocals are a bit rough here, and combined with the pacing make this a bit of a challenge for the listener. The pace picks up on "There's Something", a catchy, rough-hewn rocker with a memorable chorus. "Who Knows" suffers from its own pacing and a lack of precision in both the lead and harmony vocals. There's little in the way of tonal cohesion here, and there's little effort for the vocalists to sing together. 6 Songs winds down with "Fantasma", 'a catchy rocker that perhaps should have led off the EP. Your feet will move of their own volition.

Joe Tripp and the Hops show a wonderful pop sensibility on 6 Songs, but struggle with issues of production and vocal tone. This is not an issue of talent but of training and is easily addressed. The music is enjoyable, and the vocal lapses aren't as much of an issue in the upbeat tunes, but the ballads greatly expose this weakness however, and may turn some listeners away.  This obviously isn’t the same band that rocked the Chicago Region in 2011-2012 but there’s still some great potential here.  

Rating:  3 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more at www.joetrippandthehops.com.  

The Hops - Won't It Be Fun

The Hops - Won't It Be Fun
2011, Front Leg Music

Chicago trio The Hops swing wide and free on their first full-length album, Won't It Be Fun. Middle-of-the-road alt-rock influenced by Garage Rock, punk, folk and jazz is the order of the day for Patrick Tinning (vocals/bass); TJ Walker (drums) and Cullin Kress (guitar); creating mildly catchy tunes that can be pleasant to the ear, but often struggle to gain real attention from casual listeners.

Won't It Be Fun shows a lot of potential. For a three-piece outfit, The Hops create some interesting sounds in their arrangements, filling up each song's core with a tight-yet-informal sound that's rough hewn and melodic. There's a lot of good energy on the album, but The Hops have a hard time pulling all of the elements together at one time. It seems as if when the melody and the arrangement are strong, the energy falls off, or the arrangement gets messy at times when the melody and energy are at their peak. Things start positively with "There's Something", a mild-rocker that's the most cohesive song on the disc. "Thermometer Splits" also works, combining an unpolished rock and roll sound with great energy and a solid, acoustic arrangement.

The Hops quickly sink into a bland rut, where vocal leads and harmonies struggle to stay in key as often as not, and songs that have the potential to be more than they are struggle with their own indefinite bland nature. The Hops show some writing chops that make them worth tuning in for on Won't It Be Fun, but have a hard time pulling all the pieces together into consistent song craft. It will be curious to see how the band progresses the next time around.

Rating: 2 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about The Hops at www.thehops.net.

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