Made up of four friends from Selkirk, Man. and featuring members from Sick City and Port Amoral, Hope Atlantic has been playing around Winnipeg for more than two years. They’ve had recordings posted on their MySpace page since the beginning, but Mercy Street Choir is the band’s first release. It was worth the wait. The five-track EP is a varied collection that’s strong throughout. Cheap Summer and Purple City are catchy, upbeat pop songs; Bad Crash and Lost at Sea are U2- and Coldplay-inspired rockers; and Oklahoma is an acoustic guitar-based track about a long distance relationship gone awry. These are great songs, recorded with just the right amount of production - poppy and catchy without being cheesy. Hope Atlantic releases Mercy Street Choir with a show this Saturday, Sept. 18 at the West End Cultural Centre. Read an interview with the band at www.uniter.ca/view/4225.

Published in Volume 65, Number 3 of The Uniter (September 16, 2010)