One thing I’ve always liked about Athens, GA’s HHBTM (Happy Happy Birthday to Me) label is that though it does release plenty of indie pop music it doesn’t just stick to that one genre (like a lot of indie pop labels do). With HHBTM you never really know what you’re gonna get. Take this band for instance, I was initially curious about the band name (especially since I love pie) and then found out that it’s the work of one Bean Tupou (who had previously been in Sourpatch and Crabapple). These songs are mostly acoustic, folky and confessional and on a lot of the songs you can hear the sound of fingers going across the strings of the acoustic guitar (like on the early Palace Bros record Days in the Wake). Cuts like “A Lot of Things,” “Willing,” “Bunkbed” and “The Hottest Day of the Year” should make you a fan. It’s a real personal affair and it almost sounds as if you’re listening in on a conversation that you’re not supposed to be listening in on. I first got turned onto this kind of stuff in the late 80’s when I heard some of the earliest Sebadoh recordings (these tunes were recorded in 2008 in San Francisco as it says ion the back cover). I’m curling up with this record tonight and probably tomorrow night, too.
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