Would It Kill You?

iTunes Review

Would It Kill You? is the second release by peppy, playful popsters Hellogoodbye. Coming four years and some major lineup changes since their 2006 debut, this is an understandably different release than Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!. The most obvious difference is the lack of keyboards and synths in favor of guitar-based songs. What remains the same however is bandleader Forrest Kline’s knack for crafting high energy tunes with strong melodies and lyrics and the hooks to match. There’s also plenty of variety and endearing complexity at work here. “Finding Something to Do” and “You Sleep Alone” feature dense, driving guitars and crisp, head-bobbing drumming; “Betrayed By Bones” injects infectious bleeps and blips into the chorus; Kline croons over a strummed ukulele on “The Thoughts That Give Me the Creeps”; “Coppertone” is buoyed be wistful strings; and the horns on “Getting Old” are brilliant. Would It Kill You? is a charming and mature release that’s shows the band leaping forward without abandoning the catchy bubblegum roots that made them so fun in the first place.