Howard Hello is a pop hybrid consisting of elements of electronic, folk, minimalist and good old fashioned pop music. Helmed by Marty Anderson (from Dilute) and Kenseth Thibideau (of Tarentel, Rumah Sakit, Pinback and Thingy), they offer songs with shimmer and bounce. They enlist the help of a few friends to sing on this album, but don't credit which songs they sing, so I'm not sure who is singing what.
"False Hope" leans more toward ambience than pop, layering several synthesizers, wordless vocals and subtle drums to drive the rhythms into the subconscious. Kenseth's time in Pinback seems evident on "Giving Up" which slowly layers several guitar parts on top of one another until a huge wall of sound has been erected, which is then formed into something recognizable by a drum beat, and given direction by similarly layered vocals. The interplay of the vocal lines is very reminiscent of Pinback. Coming so quickly in the album (track 2), and following the short and sweet ambient excursion of "Intro," this track definitely makes the biggest impact of any song on the album.
Sadly, the last third of the album falters. The music is great, and just as catchy, but the vocals are grating. The woman singing these last three songs either doesn't have much of a presence on the preceding tracks, or she changed how she's singing. Her voice is affected and gravelly—sounding old, haggard and almost witch-like. Her vocal parts are good, but her delivery is something I'm just not into.
While the last 3 tracks may end the album on a bit of a downer, this still has 6 great songs. And, as long as she isn't singing (particularly the last couple minutes of "Way to Go") even those last few songs are great. The way these songs sprawl out despite being relatively short, and the way the layers of electronics make a sheen over the top of simple folky songwriting remind me a lot of Mike Kinsella's first album as Owen.
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