Hotels 'On the Casino Floor' – Leonard's Lair

Excerpt: “In an interview with yours truly for [sic] Magazine, Hotels’ frontman Blake Madden revealed the band’s next project would be a “a spy epic set in a casino in outer space”…. ‘On The Casino Floor’ is a sprawling and enigmatic work of art. No doubt about it, Hotels have come a long way since their brilliant but rather naive debut. Madden sounds jaded as soon as he opens his mouth for ‘From The West’ whilst  ‘Lonely Islands’ is almost overcome with despair but its epic arrangement is rather beautiful. Unsurprisingly, the title track is similarly troubled by misery; evoking both spaghetti westerns and arty synth pop…. ‘On The Casino Floor’ makes one genuinely feel that you’ve experienced the rollercoaster of emotions from a gambling environment; where the line between success and failure is wafer thin and usually results in the latter. Yet at least the excitement, romance and style is there in abundance to make it all worthwhile. Overall, it’s a brave record and one which ultimately works as a concept and as a fine album.”

Leonard’s Lair