''Rare'' (stylized as RARE) is the fourth studio album by American band

Hundredth In arithmetic, a hundredth is a single part of something that has been divided equally into a hundred parts. For example, a hundredth of 675 is 6.75. In this manner it is used with the prefix "centi-" such as in centimeter. A hundredth is also one ...

, released on June 16, 2017 on

Hopeless Records Hopeless Records is an American independent record label in Van Nuys, California. History Hopeless Records was founded in 1993 by Louis Posen. The label's artists are generally considered to fall under the genres of punk rock, pop punk, post-ha ...

. The album marks a dramatic departure in the band's sound from the

melodic hardcore Melodic hardcore is a broadly defined subgenre of hardcore punk with a strong emphasis on melody in its guitar work. The style often includes guitar harmonies, riffs using octave chords, as well as broken chords. Additionally, lyrics tend towar ...

sound the band was known for since their formation, in favor of a more mellowed-down alt. rock/

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...

sound, influenced by classic new wave and

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

acts such as

Joy Division Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...

and

The Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...

, claiming that the current sound was music the band wanted to write and listen to. The album was produced by Sam Pura, who has previously worked with

The Story So Far The Story So Far may refer to: __NOTOC__ Books * ''The Story of Far'' (book), a 2003 book by Bhawana Somaaya Films * ''The Story So Far'' (2001 film), a film about the band Sick of It All * ''The Story So Far'' (2002 film), a documentary about ...

and

Forever Came Calling Forever Came Calling is an American pop punk band from Twentynine Palms, California. History The band formed in the year 2006 as a Senses Fail and Taking Back Sunday cover band. After multiple line up changes, John Swaba joined as bassist. They ...

. On April 26, 2017, the band released the first single off the album – "Neurotic", the band's first new music after changing their musical style. This was followed by the second single "Youth" on May 11, 2017. On May 18, 2017, the band premiered "Suffer" and on May 31, 2017, another new song "Hole" was released.

Musical style and influences

The band's sound on ''Rare'' was compared by many to that of contemporary

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

bands such as

Turnover Turnover or turn over may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Turn Over'', a 1988 live album by Japanese band Show-Ya * Turnover (band), an American rock band * "Turnover", a song on Fugazi's 1990 album ''Repeater'' * ''Turnover'', a Japa ...

Balance and Composure Balance and Composure is an American emo band from Doylestown, Pennsylvania. They formed in the winter of 2007, after the breakup of two local Doylestown bands. The band's musical style has been compared those of Nirvana and fellow Pennsylvania ...

and

Nothing Nothing, no-thing, or no thing is the complete absence of ''anything'', as the opposite of ''something'' and an antithesis of everything. The concept of nothing has been a matter of philosophical debate since at least the 5th century BCE. Ea ...

, who switched in last years from

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

pop punk Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...

shoegazing Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volum ...

, though the band dismissed claims that they were influenced by those bands' sound while writing and recording the album. During an interview with ''Impericon'' magazine, the band has said that their new direction is the musical direction all the band members always wanted to play and that the band's old

sound didn't represent the band members' own musical tastes. Additionally, the band members said they are not planning on playing any of their old material during live shows, focusing mainly on the current album and current musical style. ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

'' has compared the album's sound as to that of less-referenced

acts such as

Catherine Wheel Catherine wheel may refer to: * Breaking wheel, an instrument of torturous execution originally associated with Catherine of Alexandria * Catherine wheel (firework), a firework that rotates when lit Arts and entertainment * Catherine Wheel (band) ...

Swervedriver Swervedriver are an English alternative rock band formed in Oxford in 1989 around core members Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge. Between 1989 and 1998, the band released four studio albums and numerous EPs and singles despite a considerable ...

and Hum, borrowing from their mellow

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media *Independent media, media free of influence by government or corporate interests *Indie art, fine arts made by artists independent of commer ...

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...

, while retaining elements from their past

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

sound.

Critical reception

Rock Sound ''Rock Sound'' is a British magazine that covers rock music. The magazine aims at being more " underground" and less commercial, while also giving coverage to better-known acts. It generally focuses on pop punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, punk, ...

'' gave ''Rare'' a score of seven out of 10, while ''Stereogum'' included it on their list of the 50 best albums of 2017, at 42.

Accolades

Track listing

Personnel

Hundredth *Chadwick Glenn Johnson – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, engineer *Alex Blackwell IV – lead guitar, backing vocals *Andrew Minervini – bass *Lee Hutchison – drums, percussion Production * Produced by Hundredth and Sam Pura at The Panda Studios, Fremont, CA *Sam Pura – mixing, engineer *Brian Gardner – mastering

References

{{Authority control 2017 albums Hundredth (band) albums Hopeless Records albums