The Hush Sound – Like Vines

I just showed this band to a girl in my class, and her response was this: “Bobby, you surprise me sometimes when you pull out a slow, piano song; it just doesn’t seem like the type of music you’d like.” And I guess, in a way, that’s true. My favorite type of bands is the quick, street punk type or melodic hardcore bands – but like I always say, you have to be open-minded. So every once in a while I’ll find a slow paced album that just blows me away and becomes instantly stuck on repeat. In a way, The Hush Sound’s Like Vines is one of those albums.

Their debut on Decaydance – the Fueled By Ramen imprint – and second album, Like Vines shows the two different sides of the piano laced band. The first side comes from Bob Morris, the first half of the songwriting duo, which tends to give you more of saloon type music similar to that of Murder By Death. Laid back vocals that aren’t quite as strong as Adam Turla’s but it’s easy to see the inspiration. But sometimes he tries too hard and fails, particularly on songs like the opener We Intertwined. Luckily, he’s able to pick it up on songs like Lions Roar or his best track, Out Through The Curtain.

While Morris’ songs take up around half of the album, it tends to be the second side of the band that puts Like Vines on repeat – the side with Greta Salpeter taking the helm of the song writing work. Her vocals are incredibly strong, some of the most harmonious female vocals in the scene today – add in the soothing piano melodies and you have yourself a hit single just waiting to burst out. Her lyrics tell stories full of metaphors and hidden meanings. Just listen to Lighthouse and you’ll see how good Salpeter is at throwing together a great song.

Still, there is something underneath both sides that is patiently waiting to break free, and they only hint at that here. One of the highlights of the entire album comes from Wine Red – a song that merges both sides of the band into one triumphant tip. It is the only song where both Salpeter and Morris mix vocals and it works perfectly. You have Salpeter’s soaring vocals brought back to earth by Morris’ slightly raspier vocals – and it just works. It’s a million times better than when they enlisted the help of Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump to sing on Don’t Wake Me Up, because Stump’s vocals don’t fit the scheme of the song nor do they contrast Salpeter’s vocals properly.

Like Vines shows definite promise from these recent high school graduates. While there are a few songs on here that are skip able, there’s more than enough repeatable songs to make up for it. And personally, I can’t wait to see what they come up with in the future, once they merge their song writing talents together, because then, they’ll have a breakthrough pop album.