Music and Movie reviews

For those of you who haven't read my blog post before this last one. It's my intention to stop being so in the dark with movies and music. So I'm listening to "new" music and trying to watch more movies as well. And because my already horrible memory makes me scared of being a prime candidate for Alzheimer's when I'm older, it seemed like a decent idea to write my thoughts down. Please keep in mind I've spent most of my life listening to Pop music. So this is a learning experience. I'm not well versed on multiple types of music. Nor am I a professional critic of music. So keep that in mind as I review these.


First up. We have "Goodbye Blues" by The Hush Sound.



For those of you who are familiar with the Music Project Group I started on facebook, this is my Album of the Week. A friend gave me this album a while ago and I finally decided to give it a "thorough" listen. I think it's safe to say I went about listening to this album the wrong way. I was in a bit of a cleaning spree when I listened to it about 7-8 times in a row. I think that's probably not the best way to go about it.

The more I think about this music project, the more excited I get. And part of that excitement is because of how much I enjoyed the first album I gave a listen to this year. "Goodbye Blues" is the final album by indie rock band The Hush Sound before their breakup/hiatus which began the same year. Released in 2008, this album is a little bit hard for me to completely put my finger on. When I listened to the album at the beginning of the week, I felt as though many of the songs just ran together and didn't offer much of a variety. No clue why I felt that way, because the lead vocals jump at times from song to song between sole female in the group, Greta Salpeter, and any of the three males in the group (all of which sing.) I tried to figure out who sang on which songs, but couldn't figure that out).

The album starts with an almost haunting minute and a half intro (aptly titled "Intro") that doesn't really fit in with the rest of the album. Not exactly foreshadowing to the rest of the album. The band has a swing-like bounce throughout several of it's songs as seen in "Medicine Man" and "Honey" that have been featured in numerous tv show ads. Greta Salpeter who leads the album has a slightly raspy voice that, at times, parallels that of Rachel Yamagata. Salpeter is also a very accomplished pianist. Her abilities are featured in several of the tracks and carry much of the power the album possesses. On the other side, Songs like "As You Cry" led by who I can only assume is Guitarist Robert Morris, are spunky little pop/punk songs that I also enjoyed. They don't have the same hook that draws you in rythmically. Nonetheless they still have their charm.

Favorite tracks on the album include :
"Love You Much Better" for completely selfish reasons. It's a pop-fueled track with the jazzy-swing influence the band utilized throughout most of the album. Lyrically, it's not much to listen to. The chorus is punctuated with a catchy procession of "La la la la las"

"As you Cry" Led by (I believe) Robert Morris is a really cool mix of the a jazzy tune spliced with what's been explained to me as punk.

I recommend this album to someone who enjoys collaboration between genres, which I truly believe this album is. Also for anyone who is a fan of Indie music. There is a pop element to some of the tracks and there isn't much to the lyrics in several of the songs. So if you're a lyrically inclined individual, this album may not be for you. However, rhythmically and melodically this album is enjoyable.