Devon-based indie-rock band Quorum were featured in Flare Magazine last month with a Q&A interview giving us a sneak peek at their new album, The Death Of Intellectual Success. If you haven't seen that you can find it here! With the album set to release on June 26th, we’re getting another look at the album as a whole! The band are made up of lead singer and guitarist Jordan Hookway, lead guitarist Jake Hodgson, bassist Noah Groves and drummer Mack Hodgson and have previously released an EP and three singles that are definitely worth checking out!
Quorum’s brand-new album, The Death of Intellectual Success features seven new tracks and marks the beginning of a new era for the band. Titled Prologue, Could We Be Different, The Death Of Intellectual Success, Still Can’t See, Somnolent, You Said and Sea Breeze, the tracks promise a range of different tones and are already hinting at the talent Quorum has for writing as well as the incredible quality of the album as a whole.
The album kicks off with an instrumental track, something that’s brand-new for Quorum. It works really well as an opening track, setting the pace of the rest of the album well whilst still building the excitement for the following tracks. While completely different to anything the band have released before, the track still retains some of that sound fans have come to recognise as Quorum’s, which makes the track even more effective as an opener.
Could We Be Different follows Prologue as track two and gives off similar vibes to the band’s last release, Doubts which came out last summer. It ties their new and older work together well and makes sure the album is recognisably Quorum’s right from the start. Telling a personal story through the lyrics, the passion behind both the story and the music comes through in the track well and makes it relatable to the listener whilst still having a catchy melody!
The title track is next up! It was written about Jordan’s “realisation that ‘celebrities’ that are famous for the sake of fame are becoming the people kids are looking up to and want to be.” The track covers an important issue which is only becoming more apparent in our society while still being an impossibly catchy tune. Keeping up the energy of the album, The Death Of Intellectual Success leads into track four; Still Can’t See well. Layered vocals feature heavily in this track and it works incredibly well, adding a whole new layer to the single and further showing off Jordan’s voice whilst still fitting well into the context of the album.
Still Can’t See is followed by another instrumental track in the form of Somnolent. Jordan and Noah took the opportunity this album provided them with and collaborated with friend and producer Josiah Manning on these instrumental tracks, and I think they’ve proven to be a huge success! They add a whole new dimension to the album while splitting up the energy of other tracks without taking anything away from them. Somnolent also allows for a change in pace and energy between Still Can’t See and You Said.
Track six really brings more of a rock feel to the album right from the start which works really well! You Said manages to be both similar and completely different to the rest of the album without seeming out of place at all which is no small achievement. It only highlights the skill the band has, the care they’ve taken with the entire project and their love of the end product. All of this translates incredibly well through the song and starts bringing the album to a strong close.
Sea Breeze is the final track on the album and links each individual track together well at the end. Keeping up the energy and the catchy melodies Quorum is known for, it’s a seriously effective close to the album. Highlighting how well Quorum works together as a band, the track shows off everything the album has shown in one place. It definitely leaves you wanting to hear more when it begins to fade out and will one hundred per cent leave you excited to hear whatever is coming next for the band!
If you can’t wait until the album comes out on June 26th, you can find out more about the album and each track individually in our Sneak Peak Interview featuring Jordan Hookway! Make sure to give Quorum a follow on social media to ensure you don’t miss out on anything new and don’t forget to check out their previous releases - I highly recommend them!
Check out Quorum here!
Words and images by Chloe Pollard.