Review: The Hush Now | Sparkle Drive

Lush, intricately layered and introspective, the latest LP from Boston dream-pop veterans The Hush Now is certainly its most finely crafted and perhaps even its most beautiful. It's often an understated collection, to be sure, and it comes from a rarified place for bands, as it is driven by something beyond a youthful hunger, and most bands don't stick around long enough to see what is beyond hunger in their creative wellsprings. But then, The Hush Now don't hold themselves out to be young and hungry, and we don't think the guys will mind us saying so. Instead, Sparkle Drive evidences, well, drive. It presents a band driven by the pursuit of an aesthetic ideal of guitar-pop. The fact that an aesthetic ideal can likely never be achieved, much less agreed upon, makes the pursuit even bolder, almost archetypal, almost quixotic. And -- as fans familiar with the band's ludicrously troubled history know -- such an endeavor is totally The Hush Now. Turn Sparkle Drive up very loud, maybe even don some headphones, and you will hear that even destination-less pursuit can sound absolutely magical.

As did Slowdive with its slowly spinning swan song Pygmalion, The Hush Now, which was launched by guitarist Noel Kelly in the middle of the last decade, confidently banks on the new record's slow dazzle. It's a bit bold, electing to not lead fans by the hand with compact, easy hooks and pre-chewed ideas. Which is not to say that Sparkle Drive, the band's fourth long-player, lacks an exquisite melodic sense or is filled with over-academic or atonal racket -- far from it. Instead, the set largely revels in a mid-tempo mellowness, the band's dearly-held affinity for '70s AM gold meshing perfectly with its love of shoegaze. The first single from the set is lead guitarist Adam Quane's jittery rumination "Arthur Come On, Really You Can't Be Serious," which is an odd choice for a single, but then again Sparkle Drive is sort of an odd record. Tucked away at track seven is the absolute gem "Sorry Sugar Well...," which delivers a classic The Hush Now indie pop song, but with a twist: a delightful -- and occasionally searing -- baritone saxophone lead throughout. There are shuddering moments of greatness on the record, like the triumphant chorus of "Spyglass," sung by bassist Pat MacDonald, or the absolutely smouldering climax of the Adam Quane-sung closer "Eleanor," where tremeloed guitars and gently chanted vocals roil and churn in a manner just shy of violent -- proof that, when it's in the mood, The Hush Now is Boston's preeminent shoegaze act (of course, the band is not so 'gazey that someone shouldn't have commissioned an André Obin dance remix of album opener "Panda"). The album touts a perfect epilogue in the form of a secret track, drummer Barry Marino's incredibly poignant, 80-second solo turn "I'm In A Band." The tune dates back to 2011, when Marino released it as a solo track, and the tune is no less affecting three years later, particularly its final plea: "I am asking, let me have some more time please."

Sparkle Drive is persistently rich and engaging, a testament to the brilliant songcraft and performance chops on display here. And with it The Hush Now has not only fully committed to being a four-headed songwriting hydra, but to deep-dive explorations of mood and sound, having conquered the more mechanical and mundane aspects of being a rock band. The Hush Now self-releases Sparkle Drive Sept. 23, and the record is being fêted with a dynamite release show tomorrow night in Somerville, Mass. at the Davis Square Theater. The evening includes sets by Boston indie pop giants Slowdim and Emerald Comets, a Guillermo Sexo side project led by the inimitable Reuben Bettsak. Price of admission includes a copy of Sparkle Drive on CD, and proceeds from the event are being donated to a multiple sclerosis charity. Full details are right here; while you are digesting those, stream all of Sparkle Drive via the Bandcamp embed below.

The Hush Now: Bandcamp | Facebook | Internerds | Soundcloud



Previous Coverage:
Review: The Hush Now | Memos
The Hush Now Play The Pill | Great Scott, Boston | 12 August
Be Prepared: The Hush Now | Memos | 27 Sept.
Catching Up With Depeche Clicky: Hush Now Piece In The Boston Phoenix
The Hush Now Prep Memos, Remastered Constellations Due June 14
That Was The Show That Was: The Hush Now | Great Scott | 2 August
That Was The Show That Was: The Hush Now | Great Scott | 6 March
Review: The Hush Now| Constellations
YouTube Rodeo: The Hush Now's "Constellations"
Today's Hotness: The Hush Now
Back To Now: The Hush Now Interview With Noel Kelly
In The Studio With... The Hush Now
Review: The Hush Now | The Hush Now

Today's Hotness: Barry Marino, Big Deal, Business Models

>> While Managing Editor Michael P. continues to manage SXSW, the everyday business of the blog goes on... This Today's Hotness is brought to you by the letter "B," in alphabetical order, sorta...

>> For the second year running, multi-instrumentalist and video director extraordinaire Barry Marino (who is perhaps best known to Clicky Clicky readers as drummer for Boston indie rock heroes The Hush Now) wrote and recorded an entire album during the month of February. This year's effort culminated with the release last week of the sparkling and curious eight-song collection February 2.0. Apparently the exercise is a bit more formalized than we had realized previously, as Mr. Marino's impressive feat is part of something called RPM Challenge, an event that encourages participants to record in a mere 28 days either 10 songs or 35 minutes of original material. Like his solid 2012 collection I Made These Gems In A Month, the new set strikes a balance between serene folk, hazy contemplation and upbeat electronic experimentalism, suggesting influences like Mazzy Star and U2 along the way. Up-tempo highlights "Level Planes" and the not entirely reassuring "We're Not Going To Guam" employ dance-ready rhythm tracks to anchor surreal, at-times-unsettling sentiments (the latter tune includes the brilliant line "half the stuff he says goes way over my head, the other half goes way, way over"). "The Subway Ninjas," a song apparently about being stuck on the subway with a jerk, a song that Google Translate improbably indicates is sung in Esperanto, uses bright guitar leads and a female guest vocal to conjure a breezy, South American vibe. Closer "White Knuckle" quietly echoes the verse of the aforementioned Irish quartet's "Ultra Violet." February 2.0, as well as the rest of Brooklyn-based Marino's work within and without The Hush Now, routinely finds ways to impress without being flashy or pedantic. Instead, there is a patience and ease to the music that somewhat downplays the cleverness and lucid imagery that are Marino's true hallmarks, all of which makes February 2.0 well worth your time and attention. We most recently heard from Marino in late 2012, when he sang the lead vocal for The Hush Now's annual holiday single (Marino also shot and starred in this video for the tune). In related news, The Hush Now is preparing the release of "Arkansas" as a digital single in the UK, to be followed by a digital UK release of the quintet's superlative 2011 long-player Memos. Incidentally, Marino is not the only member of the quintet releasing solo music these days: lead guitarist Adam Quane issued Tuesday a new collection of vibrant, textured psychedelia called O Orpheus Singing under his long-running No Evil Star moniker. You can check that out here; in the meantime tuck into Marino's February 2.0 via the Bandcamp embed below.



>> Big Deal announced last week it will release April 23 "In Your Car," the first proper single from the London-based dream-pop pair's planned sophomore set June Gloom. The captivating track maintains the act's new, noisy posture established via the early album two preview tune "Teradactol" last year. However, "In Your Car" ably harnesses the volume and attitude of "Teradactol" but successfully channels it into Big Deal's melodic and characteristically poignant pop. Indeed, the breezy, wistful chorus ("driving in your car / I wanna be wherever you are...") fits comfortably within the band's canon, particularly the music from Big Deal's brilliant full-length debut Lights Out. And perhaps it is just the title suggesting the correlation, perhaps it is the jarring opening notes, or perhaps it is the sweeping synth in the chorus, but we sense the second single also throws an affirmative nod toward Boston's own '80s pop legends The Cars and their tune "Just What I Needed." Sure, it's a fairly jarring evolution from the quiet, pretty harmonies and delicate guitar work of the band's debut single "Homework" from a few years ago, but those harmonies and Big Deal's deft ability to sound like it is constantly telling secrets persists even with the duo's contemporary "big band" sound. Mute will release "In Your Car" as well as the aforementioned full-length; June Gloom is slated for release June 4. As we reported here last month, Big Deal principals Alice Costelloe and Kacey Underwood have buttressed Big Deal's personnel with the addition of a rhythm section, which -- for the album sessions anyway -- included drummer Melissa Rigby. It's unclear who is playing bass with the band, or whether Ms. Rigby is part of Big Deal's touring unit, but we expect all of this will be revealed in time, as the presser announcing the single promises live dates will be announced soon. In the meantime, why not stream "In Your Car" over and over and over again as we have been doing?



>> Mr. Charlton was not overstating it during his assessment of the new Purling Hiss tune when he referred to a "strong wave of municipal all-stars" rising up out of Philadelphia these days. Indeed, the mental laundry list we maintain of Philly acts we need to monitor grows almost daily. At the top of the list today is Business Models, the new endeavor from ex-Algernon Cadwallader bassist and fronter Peter Helmis that also counts among its number former members of Ape Up! (Nick) and Man Without Plan (Barclay). The self-described "post-pop-punk" trio has released to Bandcamp under the title Room preliminary mixes of four songs from a "forthcoming bunch of songs." The music maintains the melodicism and energy of Algernon Cadwallader, but eschews that band's intricate guitar work in favor of chunky guitar chords. The resulting tunes recall the city's best West Philly-styled punk and brings to mind in particular Clicky Clicky faves Armalite, whose self-titled 2006 set was among this blog's favorite of that year. We strongly suggest streaming Room via the Bandcamp embed below -- it is all killer and no filler. The trio played some tour dates in Boston and Amherst earlier this month, so we expect that might be the last we see of Business Models until a record comes out, but who knows. Here's a video of them playing "The Aptitude," one of the four jams from Room.