I thought I would start off my blog with a review of my favorite band THE HUSH SOUND. They have a new album coming out shortly and I thought it would be a good idea to compare their first and second albums for anyone interested. Enjoy. B.
Catchy choruses, toe-tapping beats, and poetic lyrics decorate each song that The Hush Sound creates. Their first album, So Sudden, shows the unique personality of the band. Following So Sudden is their most recent album, Like Vines, which stays true to the characteristics of The Hush Sound. Signed to the same label as well-known alternative bands of this time including The Academy Is…, Paramore, and Panic! At The Disco, The Hush Sound is surprisingly unlike the rest of them. Though those bands may be good, The Hush Sound truly outshines them with their brilliant poetic lyrics filled with astounding imagery and a haunting score. The four-member band is composed of a female pianist and vocalist, male guitarist and vocalist, male bassist, and a male drummer. Though their image is similar to bands like Paramore, their albums truly trump them all. So set aside your preconceived thoughts of a band signed to the same label as the teen sensation Panic! At The Disco, and rediscover what beauty is in the form of song.
So Sudden, The Hush Sound’s first album, was released in 2005 followed by Like Vines, which was released in 2006. These two albums share a lot in common. Themes of love, darkness, nature, colors (silver, black, red), death, beauty, pain, and loss lie beneath the lyrics of the song and evoke emotions with each phrase. The vocalists, Greta Salpeter and Bob Morris, each have their own special personality put into each song. In both albums, songs featuring Greta Salpeter tend to have a more haunting and poetic feel to them. Her lingering voice and soft piano playing evokes sympathy and other sensitive feelings that make the song unforgettable. Bob Morris, in contrast, plays with a more up-beat tempo while still adding to a poetic lyric, just not as much.
So Sudden contains tracks most memorable to me. When listening to songs such as “Eileen,” “Echo,” “The Artist,” and “Weeping Willow,” I was amazed to find such poetic lyrics. Never have I heard anything as brilliant as this come from a band out of this time era. Just when you think all hope is gone for intelligent, meaningful writing in modern day songs, The Hush Sound arrives restoring hope! Their songs switch from a quiet melancholy to excitement, and back again.
“Echo,” my favorite from this album, starts with a gloomy guitar and piano duet followed by the soft voice of Greta. She speaks of a lost, ambiguous love. Her sincerity is curiously haunting when combined with the perfect ominous notes played by the piano and guitar.
“I am your thought, but the water’s amnesia;
The name’s on the tip of your tongue.
My image is slipping, though your memory is gripping it;
This is my breath in your lungs.”
Not only is this my favorite song from the album, but it is a perfect example of The Hush Sound as a whole. Following the dreary lyrics sung by Greta is Bob with a message - a promising conclusion. He exclaims, “We all are connected!” Suggesting the listener to feel all right with the unknown (an intrepid suggestion following the misery that precedes).
“Eileen,” similar to “Echo,” starts with another soft piano introduction soon followed by Greta’s gentle voice. Greta speaks of a broken love, a love that had no chance.
“I can take you this far.
Now, my love, we must part.”
After some gentle piano comes a more upbeat piano/drum/guitar trio accompanying Greta’s ever gentle voice. She seems to come to a realization.
“We were so optimistic; it was so easy to be;
We were young and naïve.”
Brilliant. This pattern may be common within a few of the songs by The Hush Sound, but that is why I love them.
They flirt with themes and musical styling that hasn’t been touched by the artists of today. In So Sudden, you will find the majority of the songs to have a more poetic, emotional and haunting score. That’s not to say you won’t find intensity of the songs in Like Vines, however, there is a rich contrast of songs in Like Vines giving it the variety So Sudden lacks.
Though The Hush Sound keeps some common themes throughout both albums, the styles of the songs are different. In So Sudden we hear many songs with a dark tone with lyrics to match. However, in Like Vines, we hear many songs with an up-beat tone. Though the song may be upbeat, the lyrics may evoke sadness or an emotion that one wouldn’t think to juxtapose with the score (a unique, successful ability of The Hush Sound).
A clear difference between these two albums is that Like Vines touches the stereotype of “pop music” with songs like “Wine Red,” “Don’t Wake Me Up,” and “Sweet Tangerine.” The up-beat duets sung in these songs could be to blame for that, along with it’s very catchy lyrics.
Most people know The Hush Sound because of the song “Wine Red,” a catchy pop song with an attractive bridge and an even more attractive chorus.
(Bridge): “Gloria, we lied;
This is the time and place.
Gloria, we lied;
This is the time and place.
(Chorus): “The sea’s wine red,
This is the death of beauty.
The doves have died;
The lovers have lied.”
“Don’t Wake Me Up,” another pop song is reminiscent of music from the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s. Though the lyrics are very poetic, the music is somewhat pop. Like Vines isn’t completely pop, though. The Hush Sound still holds true to the attribute I find is most valuable to them: the ability to create astonishing music with poetic lyrics that stir-up emotion that only literary geniuses could ever evoke. This attribute holds true in a few songs in Like Vines such as “Magnolia,” “You Are The Moon,” “Out Through The Curtain,” and my personal favorite, “Lighthouse.” Similar to “Eileen” from the So Sudden album, the lyrics from “Lighthouse” are elegiac and the tempo is soft and simple.
“Love, you are foolish, you're tired;
Your sleeplessness makes you a liar.
The city is burning, the ocean is turning
Our only chance is the lighthouse.”
The honesty of love and the need to escape can easily be related to. That’s another ability honed by The Hush Sound; the ability to relate with the listener.
Live Vines may be slightly different than So Sudden, but the similarities still hold on strong. Each song compiled into their respected album is unique in of itself. Thus, The Hush Sound produces a sound unheard of in this day and age. Their lyrics are honest, understanding and poetic, and their music matches it perfectly. The recurring themes of love, life, pain, beauty, nature and death are easily relatable to most, if not all people. Like any literary genius, The Hush Sound creates captivating, imaginative works of art. Their memorable lyrics and catchy tunes are partly to blame, but so is their ability to create perfection in the form of music.
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