Review Summary: The happiest damn thing you may ever hear.
In the field of fictional horror, no beast has yet to outlive in the vampire. For hundreds of years these creatures of the night have haunted the dreams of many, from the famous Count Dracula, the grotesque Nosferatu, the rebellious punk-vampires from Santa Carla in The Lost Boys, or even the tamed Edward Cullen and family of The Twilight Saga. The vampire is a legendary beast that will most likely never fade from the horror genera of literature and film. It would seem that the last place someone would expect to find vampire tales is in the lyrics of a lo-fi indie-pop band, but oddly enough, that’s all Say Hi sings about on their fourth album “Impeccable Blahs.”
Say Hi (formally known as ‘Say Hi To Your Mom’) manages to pack ten songs on one album, all of which are about vampires. While this seems at first to be an idea as ridiculous as the band name, one might be surprised by what they hear. Though the vampire theme is obvious, it is not the standout part of the album, what is first noticed is the obnoxiously happy tunes that are delivered so quietly and subtly on the entire album, even bits of romantic flair are tossed in the mix. This potion of sugar, spice, and everything nice is probably the most lighthearted piece of audio that your ears will ever meet and it is worth every single minute.
The album begins with the most obvious vampire-relevant song on the album, “These Fangs.” The song is a slight departure of the bands normal sound as it uses for more guitar than synthesizer, when usually it is the other way around for Say Hi. The lyrics are sang loud a clear with a deathly catchy chorus of repeating, “I wouldn’t mind if you want to hide your fangs too.” With the guitar flowing graciously through the entire song, it is the simple little synthesizer riff that makes the song uplifting and joyous. It is always nice to see an album like this start up with such a bang and continue the flow consistently for all forty minutes.
Its songs like “Blah Blah Blah” though that makes Say Hi so relevant on the indie pop scene. “Blah...” is an extremely simple song of pure synthesizer and quiet vocals, so quiet they are practically whispered. Sounds boring right? Not at all, the song is so full of hooks and uplifting melodies it is hard not to find yourself whispering along. Sometimes even the simplest things can be the most beautiful of all, it seems that Say Hi lives and breathes by this belief. The song “Sweet Sweet Heartkiller” is the track that really pulls the album all together though, like the accent piece to your living room. The song has the same quite vocals of “Blah…” but with slightly louder instruments and that same goddamn catchiness!
Listening to Say Hi for extreme amounts of time may be the death of you due to the hooks and hooks of synthesizers and vocals that work so perfectly in unison. Your heart may quite literally explode with the vampire-joy that this album delivers so brilliantly. Something can always be tightened up, the same could be said for almost any band though. The vocals are not the cleanest cut and the guitar is not perfectly strum, but what is there is magnificent and worth a listen for anyone who is an indie-pop and/or vampire fan.
