The Hope Trust started as the working moniker of Kelly Upshaw, but as things evolved, as did his vision for the sound, the band was created. The band consists of friends that were in previous bands together, or were mutually appreciated prior to The Hope Trust.
The Hope Trust had a previously released self-titled EP, prior to "The Incurable Want."

"The Incurable Want" is the collection of songs Kelly had written while living in Brooklyn, NY. The record was recorded in Denton, TX as the guys cooped-up for a month in a house putting it together. It was mixed by long-time collaborator Erik ... (+) expand

The Hope Trust started as the working moniker of Kelly Upshaw, but as things evolved, as did his vision for the sound, the band was created. The band consists of friends that were in previous bands together, or were mutually appreciated prior to The Hope Trust.
The Hope Trust had a previously released self-titled EP, prior to "The Incurable Want."

"The Incurable Want" is the collection of songs Kelly had written while living in Brooklyn, NY. The record was recorded in Denton, TX as the guys cooped-up for a month in a house putting it together. It was mixed by long-time collaborator Erik Herbst, at The Panhandle House in Denton, TX, and was mastered by Jeff Lipton, in Newtonville, MA, who is also responsible for mastering such bands as The Pernice Brothers, and Calexico.

The special thing about The Hope Trust is that it's a band of friends that love to do what they do, and would keep doing it regardless of others' interest. With the so-called "Indie" scene muddled with bands clamoring to be the next take on yesterday's news, The Hope Trust is quite refreshing in that they just want to make good songs that you will want to have stuck in your head.


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"The Hope Trust is Denton, Texas' Kelly Upshaw, and he's hit my musical sweet spot here with a mix of pop and Americana. His MySpace likens his sound to a mix of Neil Finn and Wilco, and it also reminds me of personal favorites like The Latebirds and Additional Moog.

There are highlights aplenty. "Break You Down", with its melodic mid-tempo sound buttressed by a tasteful pedal steel, could have fit right in on Bob Evans' Suburban Songbook; "Run It Through" and "Two In The Bush" bring to mind Joe Pernice's earlier days in the Scud Mountain Boys and his Big Tobacco solo disc (in fact, Upshaw sounds like a huskier-voiced Pernice). Meanwhile, "OK, Alright" is where he leans to the Neal Finn side of his sound, if Finn used pedal steel in his songs, and "Parting Shot" is where the Wilco comes in, at least the Wilco of the Summerteeth era, and "Don't Want to Fight" is straight ahead roots-influenced rock in a Wallflowers/Minibar vein.

This is high-quality stuff, and if your musical tastes run in this area, The Incurable Want is (to coin a phrase) extremely highly recommended."



- Absolute Powerpop (-) collapse