Okay, Luther, here's a fun game to play. For each song on Superior Machines try to guess what album Once Hush was listening to when they wrote it. Okay, too easy? Then try this. Using only the Billboard Top 40 for the last eighteen months, try and guess which week the song was written.
Oh, listen, it's Barenaked Ladies. Hey, there's Duncan Sheik. Oh, and now I hear the Samples. Is that Phish?
Superior Machines is a horney copyright lawyer's wet dream. If Huey Lewis could take Ray Parker Jr. to court for the vague similarities between "Ghostbusters" and "New Drug" then I'm surprised Once Hush hasn't been dragged repeatedly in to litigation or at least chump-slapped by someone in the business.
I'm not going to say the album is bad. No, I won't say that.
But making a good album is really a multi-step process. It requires 1) an original vision, 2) talented musicians, 3) expert execution, and 4) good production. And Once Hush is only missing out on one of these categories. Unfortunately it is the first one. And it is the least forgivable. There are times when a good album can rest on #1 alone (take early Jesus and Mary Chain or Ween's God Ween Satan). But rarely can an album rest entirely on the latter three.
There is no vision communicated at all in this album other than, "Hey guys, listen to this thing on this album. It sounds cool. Let's do that on ours." It's almost painful to listen to and imagine them loading up Born on a Pirate Ship and then having a song writing session. It's like they picked one song from each their favorite albums from their senior year at college, bought the kareoke tape, and changed the words.
Q: Uh, Reverend. Why are you being so nasty?
A: Did you ever see that Facts of Life where Blair kept getting straight A's in English just for writing stupid little limericks and Jo kept failing even though she was writing poetry on par with Whitman? And then when Jo finally confronted her English teacher he said it was because he knew she could do better?
Well that's what's going on here. Some bands need encouragement. Some need a kick in the ass. Once Hush are talented musicians. But talented in the same way the guy who played at your cousin's wedding was talented. I would have been much more impressed if they had had the originality to play "Like a Virgin" on the clarinet like Karl Dennis did at Jon Fingerut's bar mitzvah.
They're talented. They just have to quit pretending they're not playing covers.
Q: Uh, Reverend. Once Hush has sold over 8,000 copies of their previous album. Don't you think they might be doing something right?
A: How many albums did the Velvet Underground sell? Uh huh. And how many albums have the Back Street Boys sold. Right. Thank you. Case closed.
The fact is they sold most of their albums in Baltimore where we all know you can shrink wrap dog turds and sell them for ten bucks a pop. Not only that, but the Baltimore Free Press will run a four page article about how their CD player must be broken because they couldn't get it to play your masterpiece. Have you been swimming in the harbor lately?
I will say this for Superior Machines. Despite it's lack of vision, purpose, or conceptual continuity, there is something less original.
The Once Hush live show. Their front man must spend his days sitting in front of VH1 looking for rock star nuances to rip off. Does anyone believe that he and Dave Matthews both came up with the same little guitar dance at the same time? Doubtful. And, oh, a cigarette in the tuning pegs. Wow. How resourceful.
I think what I'm saying here is that unless you are really dying for the nickel and dime version of your favorite radio band, then keep your distance.
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