Thanks to Mark Guarino, even the goddamn Chicago Sun Times is on this trip with us: In the era of digital single sales, what band is committed to the double album? The Hushdrops. This Chicago trio is consistent in waving the flag for power pop and all its many incarnations over several years. “Tomorrow,” a self-released new album of 22 songs is a stockpile of new material: sludgy garage rock, riff-heavy blowouts, melancholy pop, and sweet, and upbeat chamber melodies. The undercurrent is craftsmanship tuned to inner melodies and lovely vocal harmonies between bassist Jim Shapiro and guitarist John San Juan. Their singing transforms these songs and gives them their magic. Like classic works by Big Star, Teenage Fanclub, Guided By Voices, and Todd Rundgren, these songs show the Hushdrops recognizing their debt to the British Invasion, but going beyond it to use those embellishments to create an authoritative sound. On “The Earth is Flat,” guitars flash with defiance, voices shimmer with harmony, drums rumble, and there’s even an instrumental bridge — all within two minutes. The bummer of “One More Raindrop” — “one more love song sung in vain/one more sunrise washed away … this happens every time,” San Juan sings — is sweetened by the tuneful melody and crunch of guitars. This is a band with commitments: Shapiro with Veruca Salt, San Juan with Liam Hayes and Plush and drummer Joe Camarillo with the Waco Brothers. Getting this album amid all that activity? We’re the lucky ones. entertainment.suntimes/entertainment-news/chicagos-funeral-bonsai-wedding-debut-hypnotic-bending-jazz-roots-hushdrops-get-epic/
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 16:57:53 +0000