By Isaiah Smith/entertainment editor
Fun-loving emo rockers Hellogoodbye present Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!, the group’s first full-length album from Drive-Thru Records.
The California group takes emo out of the shadows and into the power pop/synthpop genre with an upbeat, catchy album.
“ Here (In Your Arms)” has already garnered the band national attention with a romantic, vibrant sound that pulls influence from both pop music and the beeps ‘n’ bleeps of the original Nintendo.
Hellogoodbye comprises Forrest Kline, vocals, guitar; Jesse Kurvink, keyboards; Marcus Cole, bass, and Chris Profeta, drums.
Now this band is not the best thing to happen to music since Britney Spears, but the music is inventive and cool, showing range.
“ Oh, It Is Love” sounds like it has a ukulele in it, and lilting soft music is matched by equally soft vocals.
“ Stuck to You” is a more rocked-out song with haunting high-notes and good percussion in the background.
Hellogoodbye formed in high school when Kline and Kurvink started creating synthesized power-pop songs on Kline’s home computer for the entertainment of their friends.
Despite being signed to Drive-Thru records, the band still does everything itself. Most of the songs on this album are rerecorded versions of songs from the band’s scrapped, original debut album. “Figures A & B (Means You and Me)” is another good choice for a single. This group just jams and jams, and it sounds different every time.
Hellogoodbye will be huge if it can pull together on its sophomore album, yet with an opening this strong, it should have no problem.
Hellogoodbye knows how to slow it down too.
“ Two Weeks in Hawaii” sounds the most emo of any song on the album by slowing down and doing the big guitar swells and stuff.
“ I Saw It on Your Keyboard” sounds very techno.
Hellogoodbye gets its weird name from both the Beatles song of the same name and from a saying by Screech Powers on the 1990s sitcom Saved by the Bell, Kline said on the band’s Web site.
This group takes creativity to a new level with its inventive beats, intelligent lyrics and modern twists on old emotions. Many new artists fall into the pitfall of sounding the same on every track; however,
Hellogoodbye is nothing if not diverse.
Overall, Hellogoodbye has an awesome first album. I give it five stars. Way to go, guys. Show the world what our generation can do to revolutionize the music industry.
