number 5

[dramacomic]

5. Hurt - Vol. II

Well they won't be winning any creativity points for their album titles and art, but the fact that the album is actually a continuation of Volume 1 is something worth noting. It is rare that an album that is pretty good in and of itself can be enhanced by its follow up, but that enhancement is exactly what Volume II accomplishes, without diminishing its own flavor in any way. It has the same evocative textures of the first album, but makes the band's entire efforts to date sound much more confident.

Although it opens on slightly uneven ground, the second track "Ten Ton Brick" is definitely a strong point, hitting your ears precisely as the title would suggest. Several other compelling moments sneak their way into your ears, notably the lyric "How can you talk to God/When you won't talk to me?" Sonically speaking, Hurt really have a knack for displaying the contrast between loud and soft much better than most of their peers, with hushed notes and jarring screams that rank up there with some of the best of the 90s and 00s.

Where the first album was often unfairly compared to Tool, Volume II definitely gives the band their own unique merit that avoids unwarranted comparison. It will probably surprise you just how good Hurt sounds on this record, and they deserve to be commended; the album has all the telltale signs of rehashing their first album, but instead it turns it into a two-run homer.