Send "Hockey " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Allmusic |
 Hockey's debut, Mind Chaos, was initially going to be released by Sony Records -- the band even got as far as reworking some of its demos in the studio with producer Jerry Harrison -- but the album's fate was left in limbo when the label dropped the band. Mind Chaos got a new lease on life when Hockey's songs made their way to BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe, whose championing of the strutting "Learn to Lose" helped earned the band another major-label deal. It's easy to hear why two big labels were interested in Mind Chaos; Hockey's angular basslines, chugging guitars, and washy keyboards call to mind tried and true, new wave-tinged acts like the Strokes, OK Go, and the Killers. For most of the album, they don't stray far from this style, and considering that they had been around for a while before Mind Chaos's 2009 release, they sound effective, but not especially fresh. Most of the band's character resides in Ben Grubin's raspy vocals, which lie somewhere between a young Rod Stewart and the Strokes' Julian Casablancas, and his surprisingly smart lyrics. He's nothing if not self-aware: Grubin sings about writing "a truthful song over an '80s groove" on the Cars-like "Song Away," the only Harrison-produced song that ended up on Mind Chaos' final version. Elsewhere, his hyper-literate tales of self-loathing posers and late-night intrigue give Hockey an appealingly witty personality. When they stretch out, they get intriguing, if mixed, results: "Work" reveals a slinkier, smokier side to the band, as well as a disco fetish, while "Preacher" travels from a gospel-infused ballad to blazing rock. Mind Chaos is an uneven but promising debut. Considering how much difficulty Hockey experienced in getting it out, it'll be interesting to hear what they do with a (hopefully) easier road ahead of them....full text |
| Drownedinsound |
| Judging bands on the way they look: we all do it. I remember the first time I saw Hockey. It was on some TV station in a crowded living room where I could barely hear the music, but what I could make out was a group of fashionably dressed young men, one of whom was wearing a headband. Based purely on headgear, my conclusion there and then was that they were opportunistic MGMT copyists. Later, however, more promising rumours started to filter through: they sounded like the The Strokes produced by James Murphy; they'd completed tours with Friendly Fires and Passion Pit; they'd received words of praise from Dave Allen of Gang of Four and had even recorded with former Talking Head/Modern Lover Jerry Harrison. It would of course be equally as misguided to judge a band purely on the quality of their various associates. Hockey are (as you would most likely expect) not trailblazers in the mould of Gang of Four or Talking Heads, although they bear the influence of both bands. Neither are they just talentless, opportunistic fashionistas. To put it in the simplest terms, Hockey are a decent Eighties indebted guitar-pop band; nothing more, nothing less. While it may not be true that every track on Mind Chaos is a potential single, it does come pretty close with the already lifted tracks particular standouts. 'Too Fake's verses display Hockey's LCD-informed dance-rock influence as all distorted bass riffage, lithe programmed percussion and pounding acoustic drums. However, the song is really all about the swaggering chorus, with frontman Ben Grubin boasting about having "Too much soul for the world" amidst crunching guitar and glistening synth. Startlingly original it isn't, but bloody catchy it is....full text |
| Musicomh |
| Hockey is a brutal sport. Not only does it relentlessly taunt the ever present danger of smashing up your teeth or snapping your legs like matchsticks with wayward sticks/balls/elbows, it also knackers your back from having to scamper across the pitch like a doomed crab. Thankfully, this four-piece from Oregon are a more enticing proposition. If you like your music served on a plate of indie pop drizzled with Flight Of The Conchords-esque flavours, that is. Hockey's influences are far-reaching, ranging from Bob Dylan to Wu-Tang Clan. Their debut album, Mind Chaos, opens with the slapstick disco-pop rhythms and floor-filling chorus of Too Fake. "I've got too much soul for the world!" howls vocalist Benjamin Grubin with a vocal style that falls somewhere in between The Walkmen's Walter Martin and Ima Robot's Alex Ebert. It's a brilliant opener....full text |
Hockey lyrics
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