Numbers & Mumbles

Album review

Say Hi to Your Mom's Eric Elbogen only wants to "play pop music of the future" while taking many inspirations from being a witty geek with a soft heart who likes to collect records and wishes that the girl of his dreams would notice him. He nurtures and laughs at being rejected throughout the ten-song indie rock set on Numbers & Mumbles. Fans of Grandaddy, Weezer, and Momus should appreciate Say Hi to Your Mom's almost whimsical demeanor. That's not to say that Elbogen is being a totally capricious on this sophomore effort, but he writes about what he knows and turns it into a kitschy lo-fi storm of calculated synth and organ beats, layered guitar riffs, and hushed monotone vocals. The new wave twitching of "Hooplas Involving Circus Tricks and "But She Beat My High Score" are much more lyrically brawny than the playful "A Hit in Sweden" and the Pixies-like "Your Brains vs. My Tractorbeam." The one thing that's constant throughout Numbers & Mumbles is Elbogen's desire to have as much fun as he possibly can with each song's composition. Whether he's spouting off about Brooklyn hipster kids or swooning over the kissing game or mind trips into space, Say Hi to Your Mom possess a real kind of innocence that his predecessors barely tap into anymore.

© MacKenzie Wilson /TiVo