Hundred Reasons deliver their fourth studio album :
Quick The Word, Sharp The Action through V2 Records on 15th October 2007.
It’s an album hewn from a particularly bleak period in the band’s history; friends tragically died, a founding member left, Colin was told he might never sing again. It’s the cathartic outpouring of a band going through a heartbreaking time but coming out the other side, stronger, better and smiling all the way.
Shortly after the release of their superb third album ‘Kill Your Own’ in March 2006, Martin Gilks from their management company died in a motorcycle accident. The band had just embarked on a sold out U.K. tour; they played every show numb.
Later that year, straight after triumphant performances at the Reading and Leeds Festivals and a Japanese tour, Paul Townsend, much loved guitarist and founding member, quit the band. Harder still was the prospect that the band may also be without their singer.
Colin was diagnosed with nodes on his vocal chords and ordered by his Harley Street specialist to take a vow of total silence. He spent seven weeks whispering, following three weeks communicating with a pad and pencil. This forced the re-scheduling of their much anticipated autumn tour to January of this year. Together with Paul’s departure, there were inevitable rumours of the band splitting.
The new year, thankfully, brought a change in fortune. The re-scheduled dates introduced new guitarist Ben 'Royal' Doyle to the incredibly patient fans at each show and, directly from the last night of the tour, a change of scenery came in the form of a recording studio in Latvia.
Adding Royal brought a surge of creativity, 26 songs written in three different houses in eight weeks. Quick The Word, Sharp The Action. Once again Larry recorded, engineered and mixed the album, abandoning the confines of major metropolis recording studios in favour of -20 degrees conditions, frozen and hiding beneath many layers of warm clothing in the stunning winter-land of Riga.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the result is an album of dark, emotional lyrics; Colin drawing on the experiences of the past year to create his most affecting work to date. He's a man with a lot to say, perhaps because he'd been told he might not get the opportunity to say it. Musically, Hundred Reasons embrace fresh ideas and move forward, unashamedly trying new things, and experimenting with their trademark sound. It is their most comprehensive and cohesive album to date.
The first chance to hear songs from “Quick... Sharp...” live will be when Hundred Reasons appear as very special guests on Enter Shikari's huge UK tour throughout October and November.
OCTOBER
21 Leeds University
22 Manchester Apollo
25 Newcastle Academy
26 Glasgow Barrowlands
27 Glasgow Barrowlands
28 Wolverhampton Civic
29 Wolverhampton Civic
31 Cardiff University
NOVEMBER
01 Southampton Guildhall
02 Brighton Dome
03 Plymouth Pavillion
05 Norwich UEA
06 London Brixton Academy
It’s been an undeniably tough period. Never ones to dwell,
Hundred Reasons have picked themselves up, dusted themselves down, and come back with a killer album. This is the sound of a band who have battled the odds stacked against them and once again come back ready to rock.
