Every musician has their creative process. For Noel Kelly and his car, it was waking up lodged halfway into a Catholic church, a flagpole piercing his windshield and Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" bubbling through the radio.
Resulting in a revoked license, many broken bones, and subsequent loss of job, Kelly packed up his life and moved to Portland where he began writing what became The Hush Now's debut self-titled album. Moving to Boston, Kelly teamed with Mike DiMinno (bass) and Barry Marino (drums), and delivered the final piece of the puzzle with a Los Angeles plane ticket to Mighty Lemon Drops' David Newton, with whom Kelly had previously collaborated. Such an impressive story easily (and disappointedly) overshadows the indie-pop actuality. Aided by poor mixing that renders any interesting lyrics incoherent and that blurs the instruments into unintentional noise, The Hush Now grows monotonous within the first few tracks.
Certainly the band can think. The songs are filled with lyrics touching on the struggles of religion, lost love, and experiences with poverty. But the traditional guitar/bass/keyboard/vocals outfit fails to dazzle - especially in comparison with the gutsier indie acts of today. The track "Traditions" does manage to break through, but arrives far too late. Role-playing as the Church, Kelly channels his religious frustration, "Sit down/ And shut up and don't think/ 'til we turn you on." Paired minimally and mostly with a quicker beat and a clean guitar riff that lends itself better to Kelly's vocals, the gathering anticipation as the band crescendos is a strength that one only wishes had washed over more of the album.
-- Kelsey Bryant [October 4, 2008]
