Hush matures on new album

Alternative band The Hush Sound throws convention out the window with their album "Goodbye Blues."

The group has always had catchy beats and a fresh sound, with lead singers Greta Salpeter and Robert Morris alternating vocals and music styles throughout their albums.

However, "Goodbye Blues" has a more developed sound than the previous "So Sudden" and "Like Vines." The group has finally learned to tickle the ivories and play up their swing style, and the result is a mixture of 1920s jazz and modern rock that takes listeners outside the box of today's typical music. In particular, Salpeter's contributions to the album are stellar, especially the dazzling "Honey."

Lyrics are always a sticking point with me, and the Hush Sound lives up to my expectations with this album. Each song says something different, yet they all bind together almost undetectably in a theme that reflects the title of the album. An unloved child, a stalker who won't let go of a relationship, even a homage to a classic e.e. cummings poem -- these are all items on the Hush Sound's list of scenes they can't quite let go.

Recommended songs include "Honey," "Medicine Man," "The Boys Are Too Refined" and "Love You Much Better," but buying the whole album best allows listeners to greet the group's new sound and sing their own goodbye blues to mainstream music.