I had the privilege of seeing Hope and Anchor on the final show of their tour in D.C.. It was a very personal and emotional set, with most of the crowd sitting down and listening intently as the band played without microphones and switched instruments and duties from song to song. Their set gave me a sense of calm, comfort, and warmth, feelings I had not felt in a long time from seeing a band live. Listening to The Wait and Wonder, those feelings come flooding back to me as if I am back in that small, sweaty room, listening to three sweet people sing songs about love, despair, and above all, as their name states, hope.
Hope and Anchor is a three-piece from North Carolina that plays a very slow and deliberate form of acoustic folk-punk, not unlike Rosa - hopefully that isn't too obscure of a reference. The band is comprised of two females and one male, with members switching singing and playing duties every song. This leads to a very distinct feel to each song, as it seems that each time the singer is switched, a whole new story is told from their perspective, with the other two members there in the background to provide a backdrop for the singers storytelling. That being said, each song reads like a book, with amazingly simplistic and beautiful images coming to mind. From the changing of seasons in North Carolina, fireflies in the night sky, flowers growing through the sidewalk, and two lovers holding each other in their arms, The Wait and Wonder is an audio landscape for the human condition.
The beauty of Hope and Anchor is that the band is able to stay simplistic, but they don't confine themselves to a few strums of an acoustic guitar. Numerous instruments are used, including trombones and pianos, which overall creates a mood that only the term "southern comfort" could describe. The only downfall of The Wait and Wonder is that at times it can be too deliberate and slow, making the songs feel as if they are dragging on. This is, however, a rare occurrence, and at the end of the album the listener is left feeling complete and whole.
It's always a special thing when a band is able to translate its album into a live performance and vice versa. Hope and Anchor is one of those bands. Whether seeing them live or listening to The Wait and Wonder, you get a sense of being at home, and not to be cliché, but a feeling of hope and wonder.
