Review Summary: A romping good time.
A label like Fueled By Ramen usually gets blasted a lot for the type of music that they release. Bands that are usually blasted are (or have been on) this label. Bands like, "Panic at the Disco", "Fall Out Boy", "Paramore", "Cute is What We Aim For", etc. But what some people don't know is that some really fantastic music came out of this label, the best probably being
Frodus- And We Washed Our Weapons Into the Sea.
The Hush Sound is also on Fueled by Ramen, but is not much like any other band that is on the label or was ever on the label.
The Hush Sound started in 2004, when 10th grader Bob Morris met 7th grader Greta Salpeter. The band evolved around Bob trying to convince Greta to get over her stage fright, Bob thinking she had way too much talent to throw away due to a fear that could be overcome.
The Hush Sound is:
# Bob Morris - vocals, guitar
# Chris Faller - bass, backing vocals
# Darren Wilson - drums, backing vocals
# Greta Salpeter - piano, vocals
The Hush Sound makes pop music. I say that so you don't come in hoping for something with more technicality, odd time signatures and strange tempo shifts. But don't get the wrong idea either, this is pop music with it's own flair of originality. While being upbeat, happy and toe tapping, they still find a way to separate themselves from the rest of the pop acts out today. The revolve a lot of their songs around an organic piano and building everything off of it. Vocalists Bob Morris and Greta Salpeter have beautiful voices, especially Greta Salpeter, who has an incredible voice that soothes and warms the soul. She has great control of her voice and has a nice range and tone too. Most of the instrumentation of the album is pretty simple, the drums and guitar are almost exclusively used for rhythm, albeit a few times where the guitar will come out to play. The bass on the other hand lays down some fantastic bass lines throughout the whole album and can be heard at all times.
The album starts off with a bang in "We Intertwined" with one of the most danceable songs I've heard in a while. Revolving a bumbling bass line, simple drums, and a bubbly happy piano, it's exactly everything you need for you to start snapping along to the rhythm and tapping along with your feet. And that's what you get for most of the album, some great pop tunes. There are a few slower songs that pop up throughout the album (mostly at the end), with ballads like "Magnolia," and these songs usually revolve around Greta's beautiful voice. Greta and Bob voices compliment each other very well, and when used together, have some grand results. Such is the song "Wine Red" where both of their voices are singing different lines at the end and just makes your feet dance along even more to the beat.
And that's what you get with "Like Vines," an album filled with pop songs and a few ballads that are done very well. While not being the most original thing to break the surface, they still do have their own line of creativity they throw in the music. A good listen if you're looking for some happy music, and some great songs on here to throw on at a party where people are looking to dance around.
