Would It Kill You? Review

The first years of Hellogoodbye's career showed the makings of a group on the verge of explosion. Their electronically saturated music fueled with middle-school romanticism seemingly grasped the hearts of teenagers everywhere like a cheesy plague spreading throughout the music industry. Just when it seemed that Hellogoodbye were about to break out into stardom, they disappeared. Very little was heard from the band since the release of their 2006 LP, Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! and their name and music faded into obscurity partly due to their lawsuit with Drive-Thru Records which restrained them from releasing new material. However, now they have returned after a four year absence from the studio with their newest poppy achievement, "Would It Kill You?". Their return comes with a great breath of fresh air from the band as they incorporate a new luster onto their previously formulaic and progressively boring approach to music. They almost completely rid themselves of their electronic and synth fascination and move onto more traditional pop-rock instrumentation as well as shedding a layer off of their adolescent shell. With this album comes a major growth for the band, while somehow still remaining mostly the same.

The almost immediately present progression comes as a rather large surprise for those who were fans of them during their first few (and only) releases. They showed nearly no signs of change as they performed their synth-laden music with skill and fines. It would seem for certain that they wouldn't bother changing what was already perfected, but luckily they did. In the opening moments of "Finding Something To Do" they start quick and with a pop-punk like energy similar to that of Relient K or New Found Glory. The drums are swiftly pounded and the guitars sway and flow along with them. This, along with the appearance of a horns section on "Betrayed By Bones" presents a whole new side to the group that was never before seen prior to this. However, below this fresh facet their lyricism remains mostly the same, while showing some signs of moving past high-school romances onto the fear of growing older. They perform this nicely with a cheerful outer appearance with a slightly more melancholy subject matter on the appropriately titled "Getting Old".

While "Would It Kill You?" begins to lose its momentum toward the last half of the album, it serves as a great display of what a little change can do for a band. Hellogoodbye went from an almost overly poppy and synth-drenched quintet into a fun, fresh and catchy pop-rock group. Their flow is superb and they hold a decent ability of switching up sounds to keep the album interesting and ear-catching. They use the talent they have at their disposal to great effect in creating the best album of their career and a wonderful start to what hopefully comes next for the band. Whether it is an expansion on the sound they developed on this record or another direction entirely, it's for certain that they'll still be the cheesiest band in music at the moment.