Scream Hello
The Infinite Son (2006)
Brian Shultz
If Braid were on Fat Wreck Chords, they would have probably recorded The Infinite Son.
There. There is your review.
Okay, okay, so you now see this mass of text and know full well I'm going to go a little more in-depth, since that's our usual modus operandi. But really, what more do I say? Scream! Hello play a refreshing blend of uptempo Midwest emo rock and straight melodic punk. They throw in plenty of tempo changes and clever guitar licks and yet manage to keep everything pretty fun and sunny while playing rough and distorted, "Bears Come Out Tonight" and "White Skies and French Fries" being nice examples.
Another thing to like about The Infinite Son is that despite the fact 4 tracks of the album were recorded in 2 sessions each, separated by 2 years, it flows perfectly. You wouldn't know the difference, really -- the vocals hardly "mature" or, well, whatever the verbal opposite of mature would be, from track to track, nor do the songs sound drastically more or less complex. The production is a little different, but it's forgivable.
An interesting and different look at the Midwest occurs though in the album's last track, "Precipitation," which sounds like a cut from either of Brian Moss's Hanalei albums. It's definitely a different approach for the band, but it works well and ends things on another musically upbeat note.
Overall, it's hard to really admit to being floored by Scream! Hello's debut, but there's more than enough interesting things going on to make for an intriguing listen.
Mr. Fuse
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