Suffering and the Hideous Thieves and The Hush Hush have put out a double-disc split on Lujo Records with five songs by each band on each disk. Surprisingly, the style of both bands is not as far apart as their names might suggest.
Jeff Suffering is well known for his past bands like 90 lb. Wuss and Raft of Dead Monkeys. Yet his latest project, Suffering & the Hideous Thieves, musically is miles from his old work.
The first thing you'll notice when listening to S&TH is that Jeff is singing a lot more these days and although his voice is far from amazing, he sings much better than he screams. In songs like "Disappear," "Apologies" and "St. Elizabeth," his vocals blend nicely with the solid accompaniment of The Hideous Thieves. However, on the other two tracks, "Creation" and "Woman," Jeff's vocals don't fit quite as nicely. "Creation" is a fascinating piece as it tells the Creation story with a chant, but Jeff's strange noises in the background seem out of place. "Woman," is also a little disturbing to say the least. For some reason it seems a lot like an old 90 lb. Wuss song.
Despite some obvious shortcomings, S&TH are one of the most original acts in the music scene today. Musically, minus Jeff's screaming, their sound is also fairly relaxing.
The Hush Hush makes beautiful, mellow and melodic music. Their vocalist, Amy Carlsen, was most likely the inspiration for their name. Amy's voice is soft and sweet just like Julie Martin of Bon Voyage and Leigh Nash of Sixpence.
The best way to describe the music of The Hush Hush is a soundtrack to an afternoon nap. If the title of a song like "If I'm An Angel, You Are My Wings" wasn't pretty enough, the band's music is also quite romantic and relaxing. Some of the instrumentation is also reminiscent of Phil Keaggy's instrumental work. The vocals, the strings and the absence of drums make for a blissful listen, as does the guitar solo in "Chapel in Lantern Yard."
Unfortunately with this style, which nears classical music with the strings, the songs can tend to all sound the same. At times mixing vocal melodies and instrumental solos could really add to their sound. However, The Hush Hush is still a very enjoyable listening experience that will stretch some people's musical horizons.
Grade: B-
Grade: B+
Overall Grade: B
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