Goodbye Blues,
The Hush Sound
The Hush Sound have really grown up. In their first incarnation they were pretty much a male-fronted piano-playing pop punk band. Bob took control of most of the melodies and the band sprinkled Greta's key bashing in the background. 'Like Vines' pushed Greta and the piano into the foreground that bit more. 'Goodbye Blues' sees the youngest member of the band take pretty much centre-stage as the piano becomes the focal point. She sings more and when she does, the band are at their best. I can't say I completely love this record because at times it comes across as a bit bland, but when the band really do well, as they do on 'Medicine Man', they sound great.
The problem I have with this record is that the slow songs are either radio-friendly hits in waiting ('Hurricane') or completely soulless. And when Bob starts singing the band lose their edge and they sound like a lot of other bands around right now ('As You Cry'). I wouldn't go as far as saying Greta is a gimmick, but the band are at their best when she handles main vocal duties, simple as that.
In the last THS review I wrote I said that if you liked the band's previous record you'd continue to love them and I still believe that now. They've not really veered too far from the formula that works for them; if anything they've honed a sound and worked on the better elements. There's a bigger production, better layered instrumentation and everything's on a bigger scale. And if that takes your fancy, say hello to 'Goodbye Blues'.
» Listen on Myspace
