Say Hi

Oohs & Aahs

(Barsuk)

Record Review by Kevan Peterson

From its opening track, Say Hi’s Oohs & Aahs builds a lazy soundscape of catchy tunes.  Formerly Say Hi to Your Mom, the band name has been shortened but the songs have stayed the same.  The entire album is laced with a feeling that Eric Elbogen, the man behind the music, isn’t trying very hard to be a muscian, he’s just doing what comes naturally to him.  It feels as if he has not pushed himself too hard to discover new realms with his music, but he is talented enough to deliver a compenent album time after time.  In this sense, the album is not groundbreaking nor is it disappointing.  It is worth a listen.

Many of the tracks have clever or witty titles but the third track “Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh,” besides helping a music reviewer hit his required word count, takes the cake for the most outrageous, given the fact that you are required to cite the meaningless word no less than eight times.  It also finds Say Hi creating a slightly tighter sound with a bit of keys and guitar that could have come out of an Eighties spy movie.  “November was White, December was Grey”  sounds as melancholy as one would expect.  The album keeps a somber mood for the duration of the next six tracks with the exception of “One, Two… One,” which uses claps and relatively heavier drums to create the illusion of rock.  It’s only an illusion, though, because Elbogen’s lyrics keep the songs hovering in the stratosphere of hippy-chic laid back grooves.

Overall, Say Hi’s Oohs & Aahs is a relaxing companion to a glass of wine and a book or a cup of coffee and a doughnut or whichever liquid and physical manifestation you prefer.  Prepare to be be rocked… lightly to sleep.