Howard Hello - Don't Drink His Blood

Howard Hello
Don't Drink His Blood
Temporary Residence Ltd.
Grade: A-

As their second record as Howard Hello, Kenseth Thibideau (Pinback, Tarentel, Rumah Sakit) and Marty Anderson (Dilute) wind through nine tracks of acoustic guitar and electronic pop bliss. Often I'm not taken by chill instrumentals if they rack up too many esoteric crap points. But the music Thibideau and Anderson produce is heavenly and they top it off with either whimsy angelic vocals or raspy old woman singing from the likes of Chelsea Rose Owen, Patricia Kavanuagh, Simeon Flick and Anderson himself. Either way and anyway the songs drill a hole in your head and make a serious lasting impression on your brain. As the harmonies dance and present a waterfall appearance on the "Intro," you start to realize that you are really liking what is going on here. The next track "Giving Up" stands out as the best on the record with mesmerizing guitars and electronics coupled with the heavenly vocals. It's a wise decision to start off a mainly instrumental album in this splendid way. By "Parasite," we find Lightning Seeds' harmonizing by backups and Anderson's straight up spoken-vocals and then the clincher of raspy and crackled vocals. It is also worth checking out "Way to Go" for listening pleasure. This is one of the biggest surprise records of the winter.