I'll be the first one to admit that I don't dish out praises easily.  I am very, very picky about music -- I can recognize talent or marketability of music, though often it doesn't appeal to me personally.  I myself am a musician -- a songwriter, producer, a fellow one-man band -- and I hear a lot of things that can be improved in most music.

So it's a rare pleasure to encounter an indie artist who can totally knock me out.  Hunger Anthem's debut album is nearly flawless.  From songwriting to performance to production to sequencing/pacing, there's hardly anything that is wrong with this album.  

The most amazing aspect is the songwriting.  Tunes after tunes of melodic little gems, each of them perfectly arranged and executed so they're neither too short nor too long.  The quality is so consistent, and at such a high level.  I'm almost afraid to look for the second album, as I just can't see how this album can be topped or equaled. 

Brendan takes a good advantage of low-fi sonics.  Resource-challenged musicians can learn great lessons from this recording -- a perfect example of turning one's limits into assets.  The songs just sound perfect, just the way they are.

If I were to compare Hunger Anthem to an established artist, I'd say it's a cross between Foo Fighters and Weezer, with low-fi production.  It has the catchy, up-beat modern rock of the Foos, with brainy, nerdy (in a good way) delivery of Weezer, though slightly less tongue-in-cheek and more sincere.  

Hunger Anthem is the first artist I found on MySpace, where hearing these recordngs once was enough to make me want to buy the CD.  This is the one of 3 CDs I bought this year (I'm that picky).  And I haven't been disappointed.  

I know I'm sounding way too ecstatic to be believable, but even what I'm writing doesn't really do justice to how highly I think of this album.  If lo-fi sounds speak to you at all (it never has to me, until this one), then this is an album you must get.
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Best of genre in last 9-12 months.  Hunger Anthem evokes memories of Bob Mould/Husker Du, great lo-fi recording.  I really like to be drawn in by an artist, both musically and lyrically.  I am distracted by tricks, cheap hooks, and meaningless lyrics.  And this is why I love this record.  Brendan sings from the heart and his songs are well written, great melodies, killer sound.  Very happy I bought it.
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This is what great music is really all about. There's so many crap artists floating round myspace and luckily this is NOT one of them. Budget recordings are and always have been the way forward and this guy totally does it justice in every way. Bought the album today and shall be playing to everyone who gets in my path. Look forward to hearing more in the future. Thanks.
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