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Posts Tagged ‘Scream Hello’


14.01.2009

Scream Hello: Everything Is Always Still Happening

posted by Will

in Music Reviews
4 Comments

Teaser EPs that come before full lengths are obviously meant to entice the listener to pick up the LP when it finally hits the streets. Sometimes the idea works, sometimes not. Scream Hello’s Smart & Stupid EP definitely worked. The EP perfectly encompassed the nuances and eclecticism of the band. Simply put it showed all Scream Hello was doing right. Unfortunately, while Smart & Stupid did its job, the LP follow up, Everything Is Always Still Happening, falls a bit short of the high expectations raised by the proceeding EP.

The LP starts off promisingly with the rocking and expressive “35 Plums” and “You Have Good Taste”. The six-minute “The Kicker” twist and turns but never really finds its way through all the tempo changes. “Bullets” is raging but always makes me do a double take when it comes on. The song sticks out like a sore thumb on Everything Is Always Still Happening. “Cocoon” and “Golden Anniversary” follow the band’s endearing formula with telling lyrics and an undeniable charm. Unfortunately, the band doesn’t ever touch on the simple brilliance of “rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr” from the Smart & Stupid EP. But they make up for it on the album’s last three songs. The seven minute plus “We Don’t Exist” pretty much nails the band’s evolving sound with the addition of some metal riffs for good measure. “Vinegar & Baking Soda” makes an encore return from the Smart & Stupid EP and is certainly a welcome addition. The album ends with the six minute “20/21″ and I love the lyrics. We all want an adventure with meaning/So go and get it, if you want it/It’s there. Everything Is Always Still Happening is certainly an adventurous listen.

Scream Hello’s Smart & Stupid EP showcased a band truly on the brink of something special. The uneven Everything Is Always Still Happening proves the band may not be quite there just yet. But, that’s OK. There is certainly enough ambition here to to get excited about the band’s future. Frankly, I have no idea what Scream Hello’s next release will sound like. And that might be the most exciting conclusion of all.

Full Disclosure: This band’s press is handled by Beartrap PR. I work with Beartrap PR but I do not represent this band. These are my honest opinions. No shit, I swear!

Genre: Indie/Pop/Rock

RIYL: Hey Mercedes, Piebald, Braid

Label: Red Leader Records

35 Plums

01%2035%20Plums.mp3

Cocoon

07%20Cocoon.mp3

www.myspace.com/screamhello

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21.12.2008

Top 20 EPs of 2008 (11-20)

posted by Will

in Year End Lists
6 Comments

What a fantastic year for EPs, demos and seven-inchers! Click on album artwork for more.

#20 – Architect Sketch “Communication In Cases For Which No Other Form Is Applicable” (Self-Released)

- Muscular and mathy indie rock that is melodic and abrasive at the same time.

#19 – Tin Kitchen “Demo” (Self-Released)

- Sadly, the only three songs by this short lived band. Rainer Maria anyone?

#18 – Paper The Operator “Solemn Boyz” (Viper Bite)

- Power pop rock to the max. Fans of Jimmy Eat World should take notice.

#17 – Title Fight “Kingston” 7″ (Flight Plan)

- A dynamic first three songs from this young band channeling the ghosts of Lifetime and early Saves The Day.

#16 – Empire Empire (I Was A Lonely Estate) “Year Of The Rabbit” 7″ (Count Your Lucky Stars/Strictly No Capital Letters)

- The Emo revival is upon us. Empire Empire’s upcoming debut LP is slated for spring 09. Mineral, watch your ass!

#15 – Scream Hello “Smart & Stupid” (Red Leader)

- This EP perfectly showcases the range of Scream Hello. Perhaps better than the band’s LP which followed months later.

#14 – Get Bent “Demo” (Self-Released)

- Gruff and rustic pop/punk that promises a ton for the band’s future.

#13 – Young Hearts “Demo” (Self-Released)

- Former Dear Tonight members jump into pop punk waters and hit soaring heights!

#12 – Each Other’s Mothers “Demo” (Parrot On A Porch)

- Instrumental goodness. These gals can flat out play. Unfortunately, the band seems to have called it a day.

#11 – Know Think “Demo” (Self-Released)

- Emo loveliness akin to Look Mexico and Aloha.

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20.12.2008

SAL Reader Year End List

posted by Will

in Year End Lists
No Comments

#1

Dillinger Four “C I V I L W A R” – 8 votes

#2

Bridge And Tunnel “East/West” – 6 votes
Constantines “Kensington Heights” – 6 votes

#3

Death Cab For Cutie “Narrow Stairs” – 5 votes
Fleet Foxes “Self-Titled” – 5 votes
The Gaslight Anthem “The ‘59 Sound” – 5 votes

#4

Able Baker Fox “Voices” – 4 votes
Algernon Cadwallader “Some Kind Of Cadwallader” – 4 votes
Polar Bear Club “Sometimes Things Just Disappear” – 4 votes
Torche “Meanderthal” – 4 votes

#5

Beach House “Devotion” – 3 votes
Cheap Girls “Find Me A Drink Home” – 3 votes
Drive-By Truckers “Brighter Than Creation’s Dark” – 3 votes
Foals “Antidotes” – 3 votes
Fucked Up “The Chemistry of Common Life” – 3 votes
Good Luck “Into Lake Griffy” – 3 votes
Scream Hello “Everything is Always Still Happening” – 3 votes

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17.12.2008

Chris C’s Top Ten

posted by Will

in Year End Lists
1 Comment

Chris Connallon – Scream Hello – New Brunswick, NJ

1. Drive-By Truckers – Brighter Than Creation’s Dark
2. Beck – Modern Guilt
3. Portishead – Third
4. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
5. The Gaslight Anthem – The ‘59 Sound
6. Guns n’ Roses – Chinese Democracy
7. Bridge & Tunnel – East/West
8. Dillinger Four – C I V I L W A R
9. Polar Bear Club – Sometimes Things Just Disappear
10. Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs

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17.12.2008

Chris V’s Top Ten

posted by Will

in Year End Lists
1 Comment

Chris Vandeviver – Sakes Alive!! – Rochester, NY

Glass and Ashes – S/T
Man Man – Rabbit Habits
Fucked Up – Chemistry of Common Life
Damiera – Quiet Mouth Loud Hands
Scream Hello – Everything is Always Still Happening
Dead to Me – Little Brother
Transistor Transistor – Ruined Lives
Radiohead – In Rainbows
The Fest 7
Against Me! – B-sides from ‘New Wave’

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17.12.2008

Jon’s Top Ten

posted by Will

in Year End Lists
1 Comment

Jon Loudon – Jena Berlin / Restorations – Philadelphia, PA

Parts & Labor – Receivers
Constantines – Kensington Heights
Mock Orange – Captain Love
The War On Drugs – Wagonwheel Blues
Scream Hello – Everything Is Always Still Happening
Trap Them – Seizures In Barren Praise
Algernon Cadwallader – Some Kind of Cadwallader
Torche – Meanderthal
Able Baker Fox – Voices
Why? – Alopecia

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16.12.2008

James C’s Top Ten Movies Of 2008

posted by Will

in Year End Lists
1 Comment

James Caverly – Scream Hello – New Brunswick, NJ

* Top 10 movies of 2008

10. Hancock
9. Iron Man
8. Pineapple Express
7. Role Models
6. Be Kind Rewind
5. The Dark Knight
4. Let the Right One In
3. Son of Rambo
2. Hamlet 2
1. Slumdog Millionaire

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12.12.2008

John’s Top Ten

posted by Will

in Year End Lists
3 Comments

John Guthrie – Valdez, AK/Boulder, CO

ninja gun – restless rubes
drag the river – you can’t live this way
cheap girls – find me a drink home
iron chic – demo
los campesinos – hold on now, youngster
state lottery – cities we’re not from
yah mos def – excuse me, this is the yah mos def
the shaking hands – the shaking hands
scream hello – everything is always still happening
off with their heads – from the bottom

would have made it if not for such high expectations and the emergence of iron chic being the best ex-latterman project: shorebirds – it’s gonna get ugly

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03.12.2008

Bradley’s Top Ten

posted by Will

in Year End Lists
4 Comments

Bradley Robinson – Tampa, Florida

Top 10 is based on number of times the album was played, which was the only meaningful measure I could go by. Honorable mentions go to Cheap Girls, The State Lottery, and Dinomania.

10.  Scream Hello – Smart & Stupid EP
9.  Shuteye Unison – s/t
8.  Unwed Sailor – Little Wars
7.  Lite – Phantasia
6.  September Malevolence – After This Darkness There’s A Next
5.  You May Die In The Desert / Gifts From Enola – Harmonic Motion Volume I
4.  This Will Destroy You – s/t
3.  Algernon Cadwallader – Some Kind of Cadwallader
2.  Sybris – Into The Trees
1.  The Samuel Jackson Five – Goodbye Melody Mountain

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26.06.2008

Scream Hello: Smart & Stupid EP

posted by Bradley

in Music Reviews
3 Comments

There was a time when music was simpler. Bands kept their names to 5 syllables or less, adjectives and hyphens were mysteriously absent from genre designations, and file sharing was more trouble than it was worth on a 56k dial up connection. Bill Clinton was President of the United States; Bob Nanna was the pinnacle of musical influence.

Nearly a decade has passed since Braid’s Frame and Canvas and Piebald’s If ft Weren’t for Venetian Blinds it Would be Curtains for Us All. It took less than 20 minutes for Scream Hello’s latest EP Smart & Stupid to prove that many of the so called “ indie evolutions” that happened in between then and now were little more than pleasurable distractions. Less than 20 minutes to bring me back to the days when I was more concerned with getting laid than making a mortgage payment. Bravo.

Somehow, through an amazing act of balance, Scream Hello manage to project their obvious influences while maintaining a uniqueness all their own. Hooks that will echo in your head for days, smart lyrics, proficient vocals, all served up with an enthusiasm and air of fellowship; one that is seemingly absent in many bands as they struggle for a foothold in a fickle industry that will chew you up and spit you out faster than you can take the exclamation mark out of your name. Whether these New Jersey boys care much remains to be seen, but damnit if they aren’t having a blast in the meantime.

And contrary to the beliefs of some of the more aggressive reviewers out there, including the piano ballad “rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr” on this EP does not correlate with the “Stupid” in it’s title. In overhearing my umpteenth playing, my wife casually stated that it made her heart swell. And suddenly, like magic, the mortgage payments took a backseat and I was concerned with getting laid once again.

Everybody wins.

Genre: Indie/Pop/Rock

RIYL: Hey Mercedes, (old) Piebald, Braid

Label: Red Leader Records

Breakin’ Shit

02%20Breakin%27%20Shit.mp3

www.myspace.com/screamhello

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