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Hellogoodbye

Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! (2006)
Drive-Thru Records

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Contributed by: GlassPipeMurder
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on December 15th 2006

Hellogoodbye didn't have much going for them on the six-and-a-half-hour drive to Chicago to attend the 2006 Vans Warped Tour. My travelling companion and fellow tour-goer pleaded with me that we needed to see them, telling me they were kind of like an Atom and His Package ripoff. That was strike one. Their name alone drew the wrath of the musical elitist in me who was appauled that they could get away with associating with one of my favorite songs by the Beatles. That was strike two. I also knew that they were on Drive-Thru, and their name wasn't Rx Bandits or Homegrown. Strike three. I already hated this band.

When their set was over, I was actually glad I'd given them a chance. Despite sounding horrible live, they provided one of the most entertaining sets of the afternoon that included mascots in fruit and vegetable costumes and a delightful cover of the Vengaboys' "Boom Boom Boom Boom" (which I am regrettably a huge sucker for). I walked away hating them much less than I would have cared to.

Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! is the first full-length from the much publicizied Huntington Beach quartet. Having only heard them live, I was curious as to how they would sound on CD. The first song, which reminded me of something I'd hear at an eighth grade dance party, immediately turned me off. I seriously considered whether I should waste my time listening to this CD if this is what it was going to sound like. The second song, "Here (In Your Arms)" wasn't much better, but had a little bit of an `80s vibe going on, which did make me smile. Finally, by the third song, things started looking up. Complete with electric guitars and a standard punk beat (!), "All Time Lows" sounded like what Relient K would probably sound like if they had a spastic keyboard player. That's neither a compliment nor an insult, I was just glad to hear something other than keyboards and synthesized beats for the first time on the album.

"Baby It's a Fact" is one of the catchier tracks, though the melody is a bit too close to Maroon 5 for comfort. Another one of the more pop-punk songs, "Figures A and B (Means You and Me) " is annoyingly catchy and features some of the dumbest lyrics I've ever heard. The obvious highlight of the album is the hilarious dance song "Touchdown Turnaround (Don't Give Up on Me)," which nearly singlehandedly saves this CD from being permanently taped upside down to my ceiling fan.

In the end, it's a good thing these guys don't take themselves too seriously. The lyrics are stupid, the music is mostly boring, and the novelty of the silly synthesized vocals gets old after about 15 seconds. Yet, like when I walked away from their live set, I don't feel that this band has completely wasted my time with Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!. I heard some catchy tunes, I heard some crappy tunes, and I managed more than a few cheap laughs at the expense of this band's music.

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JenJen22 (February 14, 2008)

i love Hellogoodbye. I can't wait for the re-release that comes out Tuesday. I want to see all the remixes of their songs that will be on there.

They are such a good band and REALLY enteraining live!

damnitsderek (December 21, 2006)

Score is for CrazyToledo's use of "aight".

crazytoledo (December 19, 2006)

"Touchdown Turnaround (Don't Give Up On Me" is amazingly awesome. Scores for that song.

The rest of the album is aight, but those slower songs in the middle drag it down a little. I'd probably give the album a 7.

Cannsaw (December 18, 2006)

ChokingVictim:
Atom & His Package > this shit
Atom & His Package > life

cantsitstill (December 18, 2006)

Grammar police: you misspelled "apalled".

From a musician's standpoint: Fuck This Band.

Anonymous (December 18, 2006)

i dont fucking get hellogoodbye lets just make 3 new songs and remake all the other good songs into shit! the hole cd is over prodused! that hear in your arms song is good i like to dace to it but ummm but the old songs got killed!

crazytoledo (December 18, 2006)

Posted by rkl on 2006-12-16 12:09:56

Posted by Dante3000 on 2006-12-15 18:35:50

The album should be titled:
Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!: And other things Christains don't believe in!
-Dante

xians do too believe in zombies. how else can you explain jesus' "resurrection"?

You rule.

ChokingVictim (December 17, 2006)

Atom & His Package > this shit

Anonymous (December 17, 2006)

Great album from front to back. I thought this was one of the better albums of 2006.

Go see these guys live and thank me later.

-chris

almosttragichero (December 17, 2006)

i love atom and his package, i don't like bad ripoffs of him....though i wouldn't describe hellogoodbye as one, that's just the way my friend described them.

and to the person below, a 6/10 is a D minus.
any academician would know that score is just about unacceptable.

historypeats (December 16, 2006)

A 6/10???

Autosuggestion (December 16, 2006)

I mean there definitely is something to the argument that, technically, Jesus was a zombie.

And what was he doing for those three days, anyway?

Sure, Mormons say he went to America. But maybe he just stumbled and skulked his way around the countryside and ate some fucking brains.

Imposs1ble (December 16, 2006)

As soon as you ripped on Atom & His Package I quit reading. The fact that you are reviewing a Drive-Thru album and have the balls to rip on Atom makes me want to puke all over your head.

fallingupwards84 (December 16, 2006)

so Dante believes in zombies and vampires?

rkl (December 16, 2006)

Posted by Dante3000 on 2006-12-15 18:35:50

The album should be titled:
Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!: And other things Christains don't believe in!
-Dante
xians do too believe in zombies. how else can you explain jesus' "resurrection"?

BradLeathers (December 16, 2006)

Hellogoodbye is now one of my favorite bands. They are very, very unique. Like the style.

Anonymous (December 16, 2006)

So, Dante, you believe in zombies, aliens, and vampires? Seems like you wouldn't have an issue with believing in an imaginary friend in the sky.