Ferocious Mopes Reviews

• Another Great Hit From SHYTM

  
  By A2INQ7YLEQ8TGQ on 2005-06-08
  I bought this CD in pre-order from the home site. When I first put it in, my first instict was classic Say Hi To Your Mom: catchy hooks, cleverly geeky lyrics, and an amazing sound that will keep you listening over and over. I got all three and more.
  
  Ferocious Mopes is the CD that depicts Eric Elbogen growing into his music. His songs are still somewhat bare, but they seem to have a flow that no other Say Hi record has been able to top. There is more drumming, but I dont think that is what makes this album different. In this one, you can hear the organization of the sounds is more free than from the standard 4 beat measure. Here is a list of the songs and my ratings:
  
  1. Twenty Second Century 5/5 - Great, explosive opening to the CD. This is where you realize that this is going to be much different than the other two cds.
  
  2. The Death of Girl Number Two 5/5 - My favorite song on the album because of its catchy synth hooks, the drumming is simple but really cool, and the lyrics are great "Beneath your thick skin there must have been a creature, controlling you like a marionette robot, or else how could you have said those things...". Beautiful.
  
  3. The Forest Scares the Hell Out of Me 3/5 - Definitely not the best song on the album, but not a bad one either. It's got a dark undertone, but i think it's just trying to show off too much bass and drum.
  
  4. Yeah, I'm In Love With An Android 4/5 - Good song. First hint of piano on the CD, but it also is really simple and is not trying to be the same as the rest of the songs.
  
  5. I Think I'll Be A Good Ghost 4/5 - I love the simple synth part in the back that's like a xylophone. Its a great song, and you can hear Eric singing his heart out on this one.
  
  6. Dimensions and Verticals 5/5 - This song I first heard on their site, I didnt like as much. But after I listened to it for a while, it grew to be one of my favorite songs on the CD. The build-up at the end is great, and the lyrics are a clever way of showing Eric's relationship side.
  
  7. Recurring Motifs In Historical Flirtings 4/5 - Definitely the dance track of the album, with its simple arcade sound, it almost makes you believe your in a yellowish tinted disco. Great lyrics.
  
  8. Mosquitos In The Stucco 3/5 - I like this song, but I just think it has way to many changes in it. It's good to have transitions in a song, but they sound really rough here. But really not that bad of a song.
  
  9. Poor Pete Is A Bit Self Conscious 4/5 - When this song first started up, I said "what the f***?", because it didnt sound like Say Hi at all, but then i got into it. Elbogen's vocals start to reflect Conor Oberst here.
  
  10. As Smart As Geek Is Chic Right Now 5/5 - Simple song at the end that seem to wrap up their message about making all of these smart people and then them being killed at the end. Excellent.
  
  So, as you can see, this album has everything you want. If you arent already a Say Hi To Your Mom fan, then you will become one by hearing this album.
  
  

• P-p-p-pitchfork

  
  By A1K1QUCZW7BEED on 2005-06-22
  With so much emphasis on nouveau freak (whatever) folk, drum'n bass/riddim/world rap, Gang of Four retreads and techno house beat sound collages, it's suprising that pitchforkmedia even found time to review this delicately ferocius bit of understated beauty from SHTYM. The fact that the reviewer seemed more concerned with pointing out that he, too, has ridden the L to Bedford smacks of self-conscious defensiveness, a knee jerk reaction that tends to be par for the course in the all too disappointing review. I've been waiting for a Pitchfork review of Say Hi for quite awhile, and while it is disappointing that they overlooked Numbers and Mumbles, at least it gets name checked twice in the span of four short paragraphs. I would also expect a reviewer to listen to an album at least once the whole way through, but it sounds like he maybe listened to those 30 second snips on this page and called it a day, throwing in some derisive sarcastic taunts ("How convenient...boo hoo hoo") to please himself.
  The reason that this whole thing is so disappointing and frustrating is because a whole fan base could be lost even before they get a chance to listen to the music (such is Pitchfork's clout). I was at a SHTYM concert a week ago at a bar in Cleveland at midnight, and after they finished their set (which was fantastic, especially with the closing cover of "I'm so tired") nearly everybody there raided the merch stand- I sat at my table and watched them do so, curious to see how the music sounded to virgin ears. Apparently, they found the band as delightfully endearing (and surprisingly rocking) as I have always found them to be.
  So if you read Pitchfork, don't believe the (lack of) hype, the curiously appointed "emo" tag, or the confusing analysis of would be pen names. This is a band that you can trust in, and hopefully I'll get to hear "Laundry" when they play in Columbus (third times a charm!).
  
  

• A surprisingly good (and original) indie rock album by a guy who recorded it by himself upstairs in his mom's house! - 4.5 stars

  
  By A3G10NPD661EQD on 2006-01-06
  What's so neat about Say Hi To Your Mom is the fact that it's one guy who recorded all of his albums upstairs in his mother's house. The other neat thing is that, with all this in mind, he can still create some "great" songs ("I Think I'll Be A Ghost" is a great and unusual piece). The singer's voice pretty much perfectly fits the music's style, although he sounds pretty depressed and emotionless most of the time - some might not like him either. The lyrics are usually pretty interesting, sometimes funny and occasionally deep - "I Think I'll Be A Good Ghost" is a nice example. That song is also one of several very catchy and memorable songs that are found here (a couple others are "The Twenty-Second Century" and especially "The Death Of Girl Number Two"). Musically it's essentially just indie rock with a little garage rock thrown in, but it's also slightly experimental. Say Hi To Your Mom definitely shows lots of promise - perhaps if he had a major label contract then he could create a great album. "The Twenty-Second Century", "The Death Of Girl Number 2" and "I Think I'll Be A Good Ghost" (and to an extent "Poor Pete Is A Bit Self Conscious") push it up from a "4" to a "4.5". This is a relatively original album that some people might not like, but indie rock fans and the open-minded will definitely enjoy it (if you like this then check out his other album "Numbers & Mumbles", too!). Recommended!
  
  Highlights include:
  "The Twenty-Second Century"
  "The Deah Of Girl Number Two"
  "The Forest Scares The Hell Out Of Me" (it's decent)
  "Yeah, I'm In Love With An Android"
  "I Think I'll Be A Good Ghost"
  "Dimensions & Verticals"
  "Recurring Motifs In Historical Flirtings"
  "Mosquitos In The Stucco" (sort of)
  "Poor Pete Is A Bit Self Conscious"
  "As Smart As Geek Is Chic Right Now"
  
  

• A good album with a tough legacy to live up to.

  
  By A18IZ5QX2PRB3C on 2005-06-07
  Say Hi To Your Mom's 2004 release, "Numbers and Mumbles", was one of the truly great albums of last year in pop music (likely overshadowed only by Brian Wilson's "Smile", which is saying something), its followup, "Ferocious Mopes", was probably doomed to the inevitable comparsions. Its a good record, but its not quite what its predecessor is.
  
  Say Hi To Your Mom is a Brooklyn-based musician Eric Elbogen, who crafts geeky pop songs filled with obscure pop culture references and great lo-fi indie-pop. Admittedly, this album sounds a bit cleaner than his previous records did, oddly a bit of a bad thing as it separates the mood of the music from the production a bit.
  
  But its a great recording nonetheless-- very little in music is as entertaining as the totally bizarre vocal-and-guitar confessional, "Yeah, I'm in Love With an Android", laced with irony in its form and recited in a total deadpan vocal. Creative use of pop culture comes forth clearly in a pair of songs about romantic interactions-- "Reoccuring Motifs in Historical Flirtings" feels like a bunch of dumb things you've said at one time or another, and " Poor Pete Is A Bit Self Conscious" describes a hopeless trendy kid doomed to his own failure. And in a moment of varied mood, check out "The Forest Scares the Hell Out of Me", as haunting as the song title would suggest, but wiht tongue firmly in cheek to keep it from getting too serious.
  
  Its a great record, again not quite as powerful as "Numbers and Mumbles", but I would have been more unhappy if this was "Numbers and Mumbles" part two.
  
  Oh, I think I liked the robot on the cover of the last record more than the one on the cover of this one, but hey....
  
  Check out Say Hi To Your Mom, its fantastic music.
  
  

• Impeccable Blahs
• Numbers & Mumbles
• Discosadness
• The Wishes and the Glitch
• In Ghost Colours