Seattle Subsonic

MSHVB, Say Hi Release Their CDs

March 9th, 2009

Thanks to the wonders of the internet, I was able to stream to Say Hi‘s latest album, Oohs & Aahs, prior to last Friday’s CD release show, where the group opened for Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, also releasing their self-titled debut. The record, of course, was available for purchase beginning March 3rd. Both bands would play said new records in their entirety on Friday, with Say Hi actually executing this in tracking order (ed: maybe MSHVB did too, I can’t remember). Having not previously been a fan of Eric Elbogen’s quaint n’ quirky guitar pop, I was surprised when I found Oohs & Aahs rather satisfactory. I even hit repeat when the player stopped.

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Having previously been a fan of MSHVB, this made their impending show even more alluring. Yet, in a live, animated setting, Say Hi just didn’t capture me the way I hoped. The new album is pleasant and placid and I found the performance to be a bit overwrought; that capricious tranquility found on record was lost. The songs weren’t as poignant and somehow managed to sound like a bland carbon copy of themselves. Plus, Elbogen plays his guitar by shrugging his shoulders alot, which, superficially, kinda bugged. I’d recommend giving the album a whirl, though.

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MSHVB has seen a lot of eyes fall on them this past year, and this show was a culmination of all that fawning. I will first state that the show did come with the promise of ice cream, so there was clearly an incentive other than music. Me and my lady friend ended up scoring an entire pint of the MSHVB-flavored dessert, courtesy of ice cream boutique Molly Moon’s. We couldn’t possibly finish it, but we certainly tried. For anyone who left the show a bit confused about MSHVB, one must remember that this isn’t simply a formulaic pop band with punk and/or freak-out tendencies. The reason they’ve garnered some attention, IMHO, is because of their unique take on song structure, and their progressive approach to writing catchy guitar songs in which they fancy some mighty metal shred action and breakneck changes. I find their method refreshing. I also find their musicianship to be quite good, especially guitarist/Moog-ist Matt Dammer and drumming wunderkind Marshall Verdoes.

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Having said that, I also felt the band lacked a bit of restraint, and the midsection of their set careened off the tracks into a formless entity. I know, I know—I just said how I appreciate their impulsively zigzag prog-prop, but this was too much. Some of it felt too unbridled, and I think that they just needed more…bridle. Their performance of “Albatross, Albatross, Albatross” was excellent, though, as well as “On The Collar”, where frontman Ben Verdoes jettisoned his guitar and sat down opposite his brother to bang on a second drum kit.

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Spinner has just loaded MSHVB for all to hear (for the next week, I assume, though you can buy it March 10th), so go on over and check it out. It’s quite good. If you scroll through, you’ll find they also have new albums from Cursive, Elvis Perkins, and Handsome Furs.