On a mild October night I found myself waiting in a rather long line to get into the brand new Lincoln Hall, for the David Bazan and Say Hi concert. As we entered the beautiful new venue on Lincoln Avenue I noticed how vast it was in comparison to its exterior, which to me seemed comparable to the Metro on the inside. Although we waited an extra thirty minutes for Say Hi to open up the set, to me it only increased the anticipation for the night ahead. The Washington trio thoroughly warmed up the crowd with some indie pop/ low fi rock tunes along with some bright smiles and entertaining jokes. As Say Hi finished up their set their lead singer Eric Elbogen warned us of “Extreme bearded Sexiness”, which was refereeing to David Bazan and to a couple of his new touring mates. As Mr. Bazan and friends entered the stage they sure did not disappoint at least in the beard aspect, they opened up the set with “Hard to Be” which is the opening track on his newest LP “Curse your Branches”, and boy did they blow my mind away. After the many years of seeing David Bazan solo it was a real treat to see him play with a full band of extremely talented musicians, two of which where members of Say Hi. As the night went on one could say David looked “comfortable” or even “happy” up there on stage. He played many tracks from his latest LP but also a few Pedro the Lion and Headphones jams as well. Over all I have to say in my opinion, after seeing him 6 times solo in the past I feel now I am spoiled with a full band backing him up. And I would have to conclude his performance on that mild October night was the best yet I have come to see from him.

Say Hi:

David Bazan:

It’s not a masterpiece – and let’s be clear about that – but if Oohs & Aahs is another step in the right direction, the next steps Say Hi takes could lead them to the album of their career. And Say Hi (formerly Say Hi to Your Mom) hasn’t made a bad album. That counts for something.

Oohs & Aahs is the best record I’ve heard so far this year, and that also counts for something. The diversity on the album is its greatest strength. It’s hard to categorize it. On “Dramatic Irony”, the music bounces through an almost Southern gothic dreariness. How a song can both bounce and be considered dreary is intriguing. On the next track, “Maurine”, keyboard horns belie a broken heart with such lyrics as “She’s a ruby and I liked red / Until I disappeared a little too well / I guess I should have kissed her / That one night when she was leaning in.”

Track three observes “She got lips like a sofa / And she’s strawing down a soda” which says it all, and it continues, “It’s the flip of her hair / It’s the sound of her verbs.” I want that girl to be mine, and I don’t even know her. It’s the description. It’s artful. It happens throughout the record: a simple, yet – in most cases – elegant observation unfurls itself here and there.

Say Hi has this thing they do with vocals: heavy reverb is added to punctuated delivery and what often occurs is a slight overlap in lyrics. On “Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh” it’s more than slight and “I got something I think I really want to tell ya” folds on itself. It’s quite inventive. On later tracks like “The Stars Just Blink for Us” and “Sallie’s Heart is Stone” such manipulation gives a Brit indie flavor.

Oohs & Aahs might be the best thing Barsuk Records releases this year. Yeah, that’s quite a leap of faith, but if my first few days of listening to the album are any indication, it won’t be falling out of rotation for quite a while, a catchy album without wearing out its welcome.

Check Out:
“Maurine”