Imagine a cross between Straylight Run and early Jimmy Eat World and there’s a chance you’ll have The Hush Sound somewhere in that equation. There’s a lovely quality to this band that makes them essential listening – I dare anyone not to enjoy ‘Crawling Towards the Sun’, which is so laid back it needs propping up. Vocalists Bob and Greta are on form throughout this full-lengther, which is co-released on Fueled By Ramen and Pete Wentz’s Decaydance imprint. It’s very different to the usual power-pop and energy that FBR have become known for, instead relying on acoustic strummings and plenty of high quality melodies.
To be fair, every song is a winner. Greta Salpeter has a gorgeous voice with some really warm tones, making ‘The Artist‘ sound like The Weakerthans with a female singer. But while they do the timid and the tender incredibly well (note the xylophone or glockenspiel or whatever it is in ‘Unsafe Safe’), they also do the slightly rockier songs better than the majority of bands of this ilk too. ‘Hourglass’ is superb, while ‘My Apologies’ reminds me a little of the recent The Forecast CD. For fans of Straylight Run (lazy comparison for sure), this is a sleeper record that should be in pretty much every record collection.
www.thehushsound.com
Fueled By Ramen/Decaydance
Paul