Like the kid in “Spellbound” who makes robot noises, Say Hi To Your Mom is both endearing and annoying. The innocent alt-pop bedroom music of “Ferocious Mopes,” the third record self-recorded and released by Eric Elbogen, who goes by Say Hi To Your Mom, succeeds most through nostalgia, both for 90s alt-rock and the middle-class pop-culture haven of adolescence. Yet this is the album’s biggest flaw, too, exemplified by the pseudo-clever titles, like “Yeah, I’m In Love With An Android” and “Poor Pete Is A Bit Self Conscious.” For an album that is hardly confrontational, it produces some schizophrenic reactions.
When Say Hi To Your Mom hits their peak, they are able to conjure some winning laid-back indie pop not unlike Bedhead/The New Year. Opening track “The Twenty Second Century” is about as loud as they get, but the track is probably the catchiest of the bunch with its swarming distorted guitars. The warmly familiar progression into the chorus may be vintage college radio, but the band pulls it off with a gentle ease. “I Think I’ll Be A Good Ghost” is the best song here, featuring a compelling music-box chiming sound and Elbogen’s finest vocal performance, both tuneful and laconic. “Ferocious Mopes” makes some a few interesting variations on the alt-rock themes as well. The building outro of “Dimensions and Verticals” makes a slight left turn from where we think the song is headed and ultimately provides one of the album’s richest instrumental passages, layering synth sweeps over a sweet melody. When he’s not getting all awkward or dorky on us, Elbogen has a knack for sad softhearted lyrics, such as “Would you draw me with your pencils and your pens, make me much prettier than I really am?”
The problem with this lyrical line is that it treads rather close to the “feel bad for me” sentimentality of Emo. And while Elbogen occasionally seems keen to the inherent sadness in the shy indie geek stereotype – a type of stultifying fear of closeness that reinforces aloneness – he also indulges the persona as well. There’s more humor in the lyrics than most bands, yet there is a trend of “I can’t connect” in the lyrics, from being a ghost to having a robot girlfriend (which seems, inexplicably, to be the subject of two different songs). And while the fondness for robots and sardonic jokes can be charming in small doses, over the course of the entirety of “Ferocious Mopes,” there’s too much arrested adolescence for comfort.
Musically, the album is enjoyable, though hardly remarkable. It’s a pleasant enough listen, but most of the songs don’t produce that much truly original or memorable. Say Hi To Your Mom is at their most interesting exploring sound textures and ambient noise around a song, but they too often settle for straightforward alt rock. Elbogen has a likable voice that distinguishes some of the songs, but there are tracks that approach vocals with a variation of the irritating Conor Oberst I-can’t-hit-all-these-notes-so-I’m-just-going-to-talk-in-an-agitated-voice-really-fast mentality. Elbogen never loses his cool on the album like this, but that’s also part of the problem. Almost everything on “Ferocious Mopes” is a bit too measured and safe. Sure, it produces a vaguely pleasing listen, but for how long? |