Customer Reviews

Like Vines

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Hush Sound is one of the best bands to emerge from the Chicago Music scene and they're better than most popular bands I can think of. Don't believe me? Listen to this album. "Like Vines" is one of the best cd's I own, it's definitely in the top 10, and I own around 500 CD's.

This album stands out not only because of it's unique style, but the musicianship, lyrics and attention to detail are also noticeable. The bass lines aren't that bad either. I'm obsessed with the bass lines, seriously. Normal people sing along to the lyrics, I hum along to the bass lines and have them stuck in my head the whole day.

1.We Intertwined- GREAT opening track by Bob Morris. It prepares the listener to the rest of the album by showing off the bands musical style, and lyrical style that relies heavily on imagery. The song, complete with trumpet and trombone, tells the story of a couple who share a romantic moment alone in a field; yea they're totally making out. Only we find out that this was a dream, as the lonely lover wakes up alone in bed clutching his pillow. This was actually based on a dream Bob had, and it features some sweet bass lines and a fantastically cheery piano part (that the bass player came up with) 9/10

2.A Dark Congregation- A wonderful song by Greta Salpeter. When you first listen to it, you instantly fall in love with it because it's so beautiful and upbeat with some of the best guitar work on the album (that adds SO much to the song by the way, along with the ) But when you sit down and read the lyrics, you realize that this is actually a sad song. This song is actually a description of a burial that sadly, Greta had to attend. First, she uses imagery so we see the setting in our minds, and then she describes her feelings as she's standing there watching. Good bass line too. 10/10

3.Sweet Tangerine- Another fantastic song by Bob. The song sounds sweet, and at first you think it's about a guy who made a mistake and is trying to get his girlfriend back. However after the first chorus, we start realizing there's something else going on. During an eerie brake in the song during the bridge Bob lets on, over Chris Faller's sweet bass line, that he's actually stalking this girl! *Gasp* This is why the Hush Sound is so great; their lyrics totally don't match the song, and that somehow works and adds to their unique style.

4.Lions Roar- Bob hits a home run with this song. Really, really, really good song that Bob must really be proud of. I wish I could say I wrote that song. Probably the most unique song on the album, its about a guy looking for a girl...at a circus? Yea, I don't get it either. Not everyone might like this song, but just wait till the "EVERYBODY STOP!" part cause the part that comes after that is incredible. I cannot even describe it. But I can describe the bass in that part. It's reeaaally good. I talked to Chris about it, cause I just knew he had used a fretless bass for that part cause it sounded sweeeet. Well, turns out he used his regular p-bass and he said he was proud of the sound he was able to get out of it. 10/10

5.Lighthouse- Ahh, finally! A song where the lyrics and music match! A truly beautiful song by the beautiful Greta, it tells a story of someone who's walking from a disaster, trying to find shelter. While she's walking, she tells a ghost story about a girl in a lighthouse. When she finally arrives at the lighthouse, which she thought would be her shelter, she finds nothing. It's a pretty sad song, so sad that Greta was hesitant about recording it but Bob, Chris and Darren were able to convince her other wise. This song will definitely haunt you. 10/10

6.Don't Wake Me Up- The first song I heard off this album, and just based on this song, I knew the album was going to be amazing. Great song by Greta, with additional vocals by Bob and producer Patrick Stump. Great beat, really really really good lyrics, amazing bass lines... I really do love the lyrics, about a girl who finds love in her dreams, which explains the title of the song. The lyrics and music match once again, as the verses are soft and the chorus comes in and wakes you up. 9/10

7.Where We Went Wrong- I really like this song by Bob. It's just a simple, chill song. The highlight of the song comes around halfway through, where Greta comes in with "Hey come back to me" and Darren echoes her "Baby come back to me" while Chris comes in with the "Ba ba-da"s and the song takes off from there with some pretty sweet drumming. 8/10

8.Magnolia- Another great song by Greta, similar to "Dark Congregation", as in it pairs sad lyrics with beautiful music that isn't all that sad. The music is sorrowful, but it also gives you a sense of hope. The lyrics are a bit vaguer than others, you only get a general idea of what the song is about and everyone will interpret and relate to it differently. 9/10

9.Wine Red- First single off the album, written by Bob and Greta. A hard song to describe, so I will only comment on a few things. First of all this is another song with great bass lines. Seriously. And the drumming ahhh I love Darren Wilson in this song mainly cause he totally rocks out when they're playing this song live. I also love it when Greta and Bob sing together. And the lyrics, wow are they good, mostly because of the story behind them. It's basically about something that's too beautiful to exist, like the Garden of Eden was said to be. Greta was studying Greek mythology and creation stories of different faiths at the time she wrote the lyrics so a lot of that is seen in the lyrics. The line "Death of beauty" was inspired by a girl that the band had all met who was viciously murdered. So again, sad song, happy music. 10/10

10.Out Through The Curtain- I love this song cause it's about how Bob was afraid of going outside cause he was afraid the bullies would beat him up. Haha so cute. But yea, this is definitely a song that everyone can relate to. The lyrics are just fantastic. I admire Bob for writing this song, cause even though I'm a girl, it would be hard for me to admit these things even to myself, let alone the whole world. Again, really really really really really good bass lines in this song. 9/10

11.You Are The Moon- A great album closer. I wish I could say I composed this song. Greta is just amazing (and she just graduated from high school!) the music alone brings tears to my eyes. 9/10

Overall: 100000/10

The Hush Sound was "discovered" by Panic! At the Disco's lead singer, and with some assistance from that, after an EP last year, the Chicago foursome now has released its debut album.

"Like Vines" (11 tracks, 36 min.) brings a poppy, upbeat sound that immediately feels comfortable. It's hard to categorize the band's sound, althoug it did remind me of (the now split-up) Think of England's sound, some years ago. The lead vocals are shared song-by-song between Bob Marris and Greta Salpeter, and it provides a nice change of pace. The songs fly by in no time. Highlights for me on the album were the opener "We Intertwined" (from where the album's title "Like Vines" comes), "Sweet Tangerine", "Where We Went Wrong", and the closer "You Are the Moon", but really, there are no weak tracks on the album.

I saw these guys open for (of course) Panic! At the Disco not long ago, and they put on a very entertaining, if not blistering (with an all-out energy that was refreshing) 30 min. set, playing most of the songs of this album. "Like Vines" is an outstanding album, and sure to make my top 10 of the year. Highly recommended!

This isn't their debut album, to correct the review by Paul. They put out 'So Sudden' in 2005 with Fueled By Ramen. They just didn't get a ton of press coverage (well, they still don't get tons) until they signed up with the Panic! At The Disco tour.

To review the album...I bought 'So Sudden' a few months ago and was very impressed. There aren't many popular bands that 1) have both a male and female singer and 2) give them both about equal singing time. At first I didn't really like Greta's voice, but it grew on me a lot as I listened to the album a few times. Now I actually like the songs where she sings better than the ones where Bob sings.

To point..'Like Vines' is a wonderful CD. The singing is great, the instruments are well played, and the lyrics are beautiful. The songs are about things that people can relate to (love, loss, hope, etc.) and it's a really solid sophomore release. The Hush Sound appears to have learned and matured as a band since their first album. The songs are longer (most of them over 3 minutes) unlike 'So Sudden', where more than half of the songs are under 3 minutes.

It's a relaxing listen that you won't get tired of, and it's definitely worth buying.

I usually hesitate to read the lyrics because a lot of times the lyric is either not well written or not what I expected (causes most of the time I can't totally hear what they were talking about exactly when they sing, you know~) and ruins the song I used to like, but this album, it just goes the other way round. Reading the lyrics makes me like it even more.

I haven't really read all the lyrics yet, but I just can't help it to comment on the last song "You Are the Moon". It's so beautiful. The music and the lyrics fuse together perfectly to reflect what it's describing. The calmness of the piano sounds just like that of the night and the melody as beautiful as the glow of the moon...and Greta's charming voice singing softly. It just brings up the vision. So nice, so well done! Can't stop listening to it again and again.

Rest of the album is good too. You won't really have to skip any song. The whole album is pretty good when I listened to it initially. The "Lighthouse" was especially catchy among them. At first it was because of her voice and the piano, and its kinda up and down but calm melody. But then when I read the lyrics, it's even better than I thought! The story is a haunting one and the lyrics has a slight effect for that as well -- the witty trap at the end is a nice twist.

I'm sure you can read details in a lot other reviews or just totally get the CD and listen to it yourself, so I'll save it for now~

Ten seconds into this album I had the unmistakable feeling that I was stumbling across something I'd be sure to love. The Hush Sound has an absolutely fresh sound, both instrumentation (including the ocassional well-coordinated piano, unusual guitar riffs) and vocal performance (alternating male and female, sometimes appearing together). The overall appeal is excellent.

Like Vines is difficult to label. They are perhaps somewhere between the indie pop appeal of Ben Folds, Fountains of Wayne, and the mellodic power pop performances of Panic! At The Disco. Their influences are clearly varied.

The one weak point not to be escaped is the sophomoric lyric composition, with whole songs repeating inanities like, "Sweet tangerine, will you please come back to me? / Cause I don't think that these feelings are gonna leave." That aside, this is a refreshing listen of which no music fan should deprive himself.

It is hard for a band to define their own sound and produce a great album from start to finish, but the Hush Sound has done it already on just their second album. Like Vines is an energetic, punchy album with huge scope and intelligent songwriting. All of the songs are "real" songs, there are no throwaways here. I especially recommend the album to anyone who likes to hear bands with fresh sounds, but it should be accessible to almost anybody.

On Like Vines, The Hush Sound shows similarities to acts as dissimilar as Ben Folds Five, Phish, Bad Religion, suddenly tammy!, The Figgs, and even Tom Waits. Anybody who has heard these acts before would think it unlikely that these influences can show up together on a single record, but they do pull it off. The trick is that they have a few different sounds that they move through cleanly.

Tracks like "We Intertwined" and "Lion's Roar" feature male vocals from Bob Marris and are mostly power pop, sometimes dark. Other tracks like "Lighthouse" and "You Are the Moon" are simpler, piano driven ballads with female vocals by Greta Salpeter. The other tracks meet somewhere wonderfully in the middle, with Bob or Greta as the lead. "Wine Red" is maybe the best example of this middle sound, with dueling vocals from the two singers and strong performances on all instruments.

After more than a few listens this album is still not growing old on me. There are neat stories to discover in the lyrics, and great little bits of instrumentation you may miss the first few times. The only problem I have is that in a couple of places the piano sounds a little "cheap" for such a well produced album. They more than make up for it in creativity and energy. Pick up this album and enjoy.

i decided to randomly purchase this cd from amazon just 2 days ago by reading the reviews alone. i am NOT disappointed. it's expertly crafted and ridiculously catchy. the alternation between bob & greta's vocals are quite pleasing. offers a different experience as you are relayed with two points of view, plus their duets are fantastic as well. all around a great disc to have in a collection.

I've always liked variety in music and The Hush Sound is no exception. Bob and Greta's voices are very different from each other yet when you put them together like in Wine Red, they just "intertwine" so brilliantly. Every song weaves a diverse story and contains astounding imagery within. Their unique sound got me hooked and I couldn't stop listening to "Like Vines" since I bought it.

We Intertwined 5/5: I love how contradictory the song is to its lyrics. It's so happy and cheery yet it has dark lyrics. Plus, I love the trombone and trumpet in the track.

A Dark Congregation 5/5: The lyrics and Greta's voice are just amazing. The guitar after the first chorus sounds really cool and the piano interlude (if you can call it that) is very catchy and somewhat upbeat.

Sweet Tangerine 6/5: A favorite off the album. Very unique and very appealing. The bridge showcases Bob's voice greatly. Everything about this song is INCREDIBLE just as the fact that my mother actually once solved an algebra problem. 0_o

Lions Roar 4/5: I extremely love this song. It really does have this circus-like sound to it. However, the end of the song is quite weird and eerie including the "Everybody stop!" part. But it's very popular and lots of people love it.

Lighthouse 4/5: Greta's voice is remarkable (obviously), not to mention her piano skills in it. The lyrics are very descriptive and you can easily picture this story that Greta sings to you. The ending of the song is abrupt and can leave a chill through the spine. Well, that's what happens to me.

Don't Wake Me Up 6/5: Another favorite off "Like Vines". It's pretty much the first song I heard off the album. I discovered THS through FOB so after I heard that Patrick sings in this song, I just had to listen to it. Everyone in the song sang beautifully, especially Patrick. I also liked the lyrics and the guitar in the song.

Where We Went Wrong 5/5: The lyrics are great but the thing that people (including me) love about the song is when Greta and Darren sing "Hey, come back to me" with Bob singing in the background. It's a song you'll really love to sing along with.

Magnolia 6/5: Yep, another favorite song. The lyrics are exceptionally stunning. Greta of course sings well in this song and the piano closing the song is somewhat haunting but spectacular.

Wine Red 5/5: It's my little sister's favorite song off "Like Vines" and I love the song too. Great sing-a-long? Absolutely. When Bob and Greta's voices (and lyrics) are put together, it definitely makes the song really something.

Out Through the Curtain 4/5: Can people relate to the song? Oh yes. Catchy? Yes. A little after two minutes into the song, it's quite amazing. However, the fact that Bob sings so low in the song is kind of annoying. Still love the song though.

You Are the Moon 5/5: It's a great ending of the album. Of course, everything from the imagery to Greta's voice to the piano ending was great.

Overall, wonderful and miraculously refreshing. It's great to listen to over the summer and as for kids, your moms will most likely love this band after listening to it as the other moms I know that like it. Get "Like Vines" now!

PS. If you like FBR bands or not... You should get it anyway, just saying. :]

I just bought this CD today as a kind of last minute thing because the Best Buy I went to didn't have the CD I was looking for. I remembered that I wanted to check this band out, as I have heard and read many great reviews about them and I like Fall Out Boy and Panic! at the Disco, who are similar bands. Honesty, I wasn't expecting too much out of this CD, just another group of wannabe rock stars, but I was wrong and pleasantly surprised and how good this CD actually is. I am very picky with my music and a harsh critic. I rarely give a CD 5 stars, but this band is deserving of them. It is not everday that I hear a CD where I like every single song I hear on it, but that's how it is with the Hush Sound.

The album starts out with the song "We Intertwined", which is vocalized by Bob Morris. This is definitely a good opener song and it features the line "like vines we intertwined", which is where the CD title comes from. Then comes track two, "A Dark Congregation", which totally blew me away. The sheer beauty and clarity of Greta Salpeter's voice is amazing and that alone could make you fall in love with the song and any other song with her voice. Then comes "Sweet Tangerine" featuring Bob Morris' voice and it is definitely a strong song for the album. Then we have "Lions Roar", which is a pretty short song and it doesn't really have a chorus, but that's what makes it great. It is fun and has good lyrics and music and makes you want to keep listening. Then comes "Lighthouse", Greta's next song. It is truly amazing and you can definitely hear the emotion in the lyrics and you get a total mental picture of what is going on. Then comes "Don't Wake Me Up", a fun and catchy song that features vocals from Greta and Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy. Then we have "Where We Went Wrong", a Bob song, that uses nautical metaphors to describe a relationship gone awry. Next is "Magnolia", a Greta song that is very good has great lyrics, and is very catchy. After that we have the famous "Wine Red", which is the first song I ever heard from this band. I liked it when I first heard it and I still do. There are dual vocals between Bob and Greta and it definitely a perfect sound. Then comes "Out Through the Curtain", the last song that Bob sings on the album. It is definitely a good closing for him, which just brings us to the last song on the album, sung by Greta, which is "You Are the Moon". A very nice song if I do say so myself and you will definitely fall in love with it.

If you are even considering this band, I say go for it 100%, and and I promise you that, given you like alternative music, you will not be disappointed.

Though the band has striking similarities to Panic! At The Disco, The Housh Sound continues to explore a more unique sound in their sophmore effort Like Vines. The result is a more polished work in comparison with their earlier album So Sudden. The band continues to use a pletohora of instruments to create a sound that obviously stands out among their peers. Like Vines, which now features Greta Salpeter in several tracks, utilizes classical instruments such as the piano with an indie rock sound that is both catchy and easy on the ears; Wine Red is a solid example of the band's revamped sound. Nevertheless, if you enjoy Panic! At The Disco, you'll find this album worth listening to!