Of The Hour

...An array of artistic talent graces these four individuals. They portray a keen sense of creativity and originality, as well as a spot on recording... - Boston Noise

Making progress
Of the Hour stretch out on Entropy
BY BOB GULLA
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OF THE HOUR: self-described 'prog rock without the chops.'

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Of the Hour’s new album, Entropy, has some grand aspirations. In parts it sounds like modern prog-ish outfits like Dream Theater and Porcupine Tree. At other times, when it rocks out, they have the conviction of a band like Live (where are they now, incidentally?), and when they take it down a notch, the quartet spews vibes like mid-’70s era Pink Floyd. All of this means that Of the Hour isn’t your standard issue rock band, and Entropy, their debut, is anything but a hackneyed outing.

There’s something to be said for stepping off the trail, for setting your sites on a goal not often fired at. Sure, it’s good and all to be a punk band or, say, a thrash outfit, but think of how difficult it is in those cases for a band to set itself apart from the pack. Ain’t nothing wrong with a punk, like I said. But there is something strangely boring about 30 punk bands in the same town trying to rearrange the same three chords night after night after night.

Anyway, Of the Hour doesn’t have that problem, since they tread across vastly different soundscapes from song to song. "Evolution of Things," for example, is a polished and cohesive exploration of Jeff Buckley-era passion-rock mixed with a prog-ish arrangement. "Strange the Way It Is" begins with a crawling guitar line, which leads into a spidery, Rush-like chorus. It’s introspective and rich, with excellent attention paid to detail, melodically and lyrically, and just enough subtle shifts in motif to keep the experience slightly off balance.

"Like Sun To a Vampire" illuminates the band’s potent use of dynamics, as it shifts and swells through electric, acoustic, quiet, and heavy passages. The band’s ability to write both effective melodies and counter-melodies — with impressive production/fidelity — points to the fact that these guys have been there before in some way or shape. Dave Witham (vocals, keys), Josh Karten (guitars), Nick Sollecito (bass), and Alex Chapman (drums, percussion) like to refer to themselves as "prog rock without the chops" and the fact is there is probably no better five-word description for Of the Hour. And besides, who says you have to play "lights out" when the genre du jour is prog?

Witham sums it all up in the band’s website bio. "Music is supposed to be a reflection of the artists’ personality, so it seems fitting that the music should encompass all parts of human emotion, like fear, love, hatred, humor, joy, or whatever other emotions that could be felt at one point in one’s life." One must agree, musn’t one?

- Providence Phoenix

Next up was Providence, RI's very own OF THE HOUR. Now many of you have read my previous blogs or have talked to me about this band and it is fairly evident that this is my current favorite band, so I was obviously excited and was never more blown away by a live performance in my life. For those that know me, you know how very rare it is to see an honest to goodness smile on my face. Well for 35 minutes it just would not go away. From the opening note I was mesmerized. If you like the 3 songs on MySpace or have gotten a demo from me all I can say is that if you think that is good, you NEED to see them live. The band captivates with its sonic wall of sounds, pulls you in further with the tightness of true professionals and then blows you away with such an intense performance that you fell transported to a diferent time, a time when there was actually something more to the godforsaken industry than image or merch designs or marketing. A time when the MUSIC was what was important. These guys flow seemlessly from a spacey airy sound to a pounding rock machine in the blink of an eye and then back again. Personal favorites were the 2nd song in the set, Strange The Way It Is and of course Evolution of Things (even though Ronnie douched out). I now know what it feels like to be a kid at Disney World now. Fucking brilliant.
- A Blog by DXN, DJ and Program director for Syracuse Station Rock105 The Dog

OTH is now in the WBRU rock hunt semi finals. - oth

Of The Hour was voted best breakthrough act of R.I for the year 2005! - R.I Motif.

Rhode islands biggest paper did a sunday FRONT PAGE spread on Of The Hour! Check out the behind the scenes stuff with the band here...


http://www.projo.com/extra/2005/of_the_hour/
- Providence Journal

OTH's song "Evolution of Things" is currently ranked #1 in Progressive Rock! - Garageband.com

Of The Hour was featured on Xm Radio's "The Radar Report"! The show is broadcast worldwide, showing off hot new unsigned acts!
"Evolution of Things" and "Strange the Way It Is" were both played on the show! - XM Radio