The Cab, The Hush Sound, The Morning Light, Steel Train

The Hush Sound It might break your heart to know that The Hush Sound's third album, Goodbye Blues, almost never existed. Nearing the end of 2006, the Chicago foursome - which formed in the very beginning of 2005 and released their debut album, So Sudden, in October of the same year - was on the verge of bidding each other and their band adieu. They had just released their sophomore effort, Like Vines, through Pete Wentz's Decaydance imprint on label Fueled By Ramen, but thankfully had embarked on a sold-out headlining tour - which came to its pinnacle during a packed show at Philadelphia's Theater of the Living Arts. Suddenly the band realized that people cared, and then, even more importantly, that they did too. While touring in the spring of 2007, the four members began to develop the songs that would land on the new album, drawing on the power of collaboration and a newfound sense of cohesion to propel them forward. Goodbye Blues was actualized over the course of two months in Kevin Augunas' (Cold War Kids) North Hollywood studio, beginning in September of 2007. There the band became revitalized, inspired by the memory of what had initially made them love creating music in the first place. "When we were making So Sudden, it was fun and spontaneous, but on Like Vines it became so serious," Bob says. "Everyone was so worried about everything. But now I think our scope of the world has broadened. Our whole point of view on everything shifted, and I think the reason this album sounds the way it does is because there was a lot less worrying." Indeed, Goodbye Blues bridges an expanse between an invitingly catchy pop buoyancy and a certain emotional and intellectual depth The Hush Sound has never fully explored before. To achieve this dichotomy, the group studied the past with great vigor, digging through the back catalogue of American music since the early 1900s, subtly culling the styles of blues, swing, rock, and folk into the mix of their own personal sensibility. With massive amounts of touring under their belts alongside bands like Rooney and Jack's Mannequin, Hellogoodbye, Boys Like Girls, Fall Out Boy, and Panic! At the Disco; an inclusion in Alternative Press's Most Anticipated issue of albums expected in 2008; and the rare, genuine desire to shape and inspire people's lives with their music, The Hush Sound is prepared to unleash something unstoppable and very real on the world with Goodbye Blues. "All of a sudden everything just clicked," Greta says. "We finally understood where the others were coming from. This record is the consummation of our unconsummated marriage."