Canada's Most Underrated Band - Hello Beautiful

March 2010

Presented in footnotes* by: Chris Shaban & Pete Munro

Sometimes writing isn’t all it’s cracked up to be I guess that raises the query, ‘what is it cracked up to be?’ Don’t ask me tough questions please….. Every time someone I know cuts a new record, starts a new business, heck, even finishes reading a book longer than 26 pages, I get “Hey Shabby, can you write an article about…?” The standard answer is usually, “Oh for sure dog, I know our readers would love to hear about how your brother just burned his grilled cheese sandwich while dancing to ‘Party in the USA’. What’s his name again Needless to say, it usually stops there. However, if you’re dealing with someone who doesn’t play the sarcasm game, suggest that they email the idea to you. This will eliminate the remaining 10%.?”

But then, sometimes, and I mean in a rare instance, I get a bright idea for an article.

This my friends, is one of those times…

It was a chilly April afternoon in the calendar year of 2010. It was about 9am and I was heading to the Whitby office for a day filled with emails, ideas, and trading war stories with Pete Just for the record, it’s been pretty amazing to watch Pete’s version of war change since we have started this business. This guys got more frontline activity than Napoleon at Waterloo… And he couldn’t escape if he wanted to.. As I reach for the handle on the door to my crib, I get hit with a BBM from Charlie Royal… Emcee extraordinaire for Hello Beautiful that says ‘I have something for you to listen to, u home?’ The first answer was ‘yes, I am’. The second said ‘grab a century on your way If I need to explain that, you’re not meant to know..’

(Internal footnote*: For those that may be unfamiliar with Hello Beautiful First start by removing yourself from under the rock you’ve been living beneath and brush the dirt off. And speaking about that… what happened to A&R’s? I know there are still some people out there grindin’, but it seems like the art of organically discovering a band is almost extinct. To be honest, I almost hope the good bands get scooped up by someone in the States before they become the next Len or Lillix… Oh, wait a second… they were both signed to US labels. Okay, F it – at least they’re not the Stereos, right? Whoops… I shouldn’t have written that, but if I were to do it again, the second time it would say Down With Webster. I’m just saying…, please surf their page here on FarBeyond.ca and then give your head a shake For those that still need additional points of reference, just imagine Fall Out Boy, but with the 2 rock stars: one as the singer (as opposed to on guitar like Pete Wentz) and toss in an incredible and ultra talented emcee spittin verses... Also heard Elton John with a little Snoop Dogg… sure, that works too….)

Anyway, back at the crib, I’m clad from head to toe in corporatism with no time to change. So I did what any self-respecting man would do… I got out the little grinder that my cousin Arlie gave me before his official retirement I think this was the 32nd or 33rd original retirement for him. I myself am just shy of triple digits. All of you heads in Claremont will be happy to know that his retirement lasted as long as Brett Favre’s and our gin rummy games are back to normal. and laid it out on the most recent XXL Magazine while waiting for the doorbell to ring. Needless to say, my trip to Whitby was about to be postponed.

What happened next is a prime example of why I can’t leave this stinkin’ business…

Charlie arrives and we exchange pounds And no, just cause he’s from England that doesn’t mean we flipped quid…, don’t assume everything is about money. Remember, if it don’t make dollars then it don’t make pence. , he passes me the cigar and the CD in one motion and I begin to wrap the present. Because I still wasn’t settled in the new crib yet, all I had available to play the music was my MacBook, but on this day, it sounded like the main room at Metalworks.

What I heard was the rough mix of the 10 songs that were selected to make up their second LP that was soon to be known as ‘I Wanna Die Like This! I thought that the name of the album was a big secret until I tuned into Alan Cross’ Explore Music show in early June 2010 and heard it mentioned. Now, I knew the name, and I’m also not Alan Cross (who is so the man, by the way) – but now that he’s opened the can of worms…. ’. I am going dedicate the rest of this article to the detailed breakdown of the 3 key records on this album, but with a little twist. Because my musical knowledge doesn’t extend past radio spins Every year I pick a minimum of 35 songs and place what we around here call the ‘bullet’ stamp on them. Basically, you have to call the song before it reaches the Billboard Hot 100 and depending on the artist, you have to give a ‘peak range’. So for example, saying the new T.I. record will hit is useless, so tell me if he’s going to make the top 10. But when ‘Paper Planes’ came out and M.I.A. was a new artist over here, a Top 30 call would have been good enough. I have 3 Waterloo’s in my career and I will never forget them: ‘Roses’ by Outkast, ‘Good Morning’ by Chamillionaire, and ‘Armada Latina’ by Cypress Hill. and cash registers, Pete is going to come through and write the meat with all his staccato and arrangement talk. I’m going to swing through right after with the footnotes.

Hold on tight… We’re firing away in no particular order – Let the gushing begin:

1. Some Days

One of the interesting things I noticed about the arrangements in all three of these songs, is that they all start with a stripped down version of the hook. I remember a time when Jonathan Davis Yes, the spec wearing front man from Korn…. was trying to lead a movement against the industry standard that was developing in modern music in which the hook always had to be played by the one-minute mark. That 60-second standard eventually became 50, and by now it’s really just a matter of getting it out there as quickly as possible Which I’m pretty sure was the standard in the Beatles/Motown era… You know, when popular music was perfected. The reason the Fab Four stopped touring by the time they had reached Sgt. Peppers was because as soon as they started the first song, ‘She loves you, Ya, Ya, Ya’ that became the last thing you heard till the lights came on. Oh ya, also because by the late 60’s there were about four thousand different sounds on their albums that they weren’t able to replicate live. But mainly the screaming….. By no means am I complaining though. Kinda like you can’t picture anyone but Harrison Ford playing Indiana Jones Geez… I’m so old I can’t even remember anyone but Michael Keaton playing Batman. Who? Exactly…, I can’t picture a song like Some Days beginning with anything but that instantly recognizable piano and Cole’s vocals. The start of the song gives you just enough time to get your bearings before you start singing. I realized the other day, similar to a number of other tunes, I hadn’t actually listened to Some Days without singing along since I knew what all the words were Like our friend Mr. Cross said… “This song will go through your head…pretty much for the rest of the day.” Tough not to sing along when that happens..

The quality of this song goes FarBeyond the excellent writing. The engineering and the production are outstanding. When the band comes in after the four bar intro it sounds like a million bucks That also sounds like a perfect advance.. There’s a lot that can be said for the benefits that home studios can give indie bands that want to get their music out there. Straight up, you can work some serious magic with a few mics, a digi 002, and ProTools LE, but there’s no replacing an expert behind an SSL, and an outside ear making those tweaks that can take you from almost, to raising the bar. The way Charlie’s vocals are layered at the right times it sounds like spoken harmonies See rappers… Harmonies DO work for emcees. There’s not a single frequency that gets out of hand no matter how loud you turn up the volume, and the syncopation between the bass and drums serve the song perfectly Now you know why Pete wrote this part….. The mix is fantastic and as much as the song sounds completely unified you can still pick out each individual player from the recording. The way the chorus progression transitions back to the verse is seamless. Further, the way the transition from the bridge drops with the piano ‘roll’ instead of the completely expected pick slide From our friends at Wikipedia: A pick slide or pick scrape is a guitar technique most often performed in the rock, punk or metal music genres. The technique is executed by holding the edge of the pick against any of the three or four wound strings and moving it along the string. As the pick moves across the string, the edge of the pick catches the string's windings in rapid succession causing the string to vibrate and produce a note. This rapid rattling of the pick's edge against the windings also gives the resulting note a grinding or grating quality that every other band would have used is a little reminder, in case you’d forgotten, that you’re listening to something different than everything else that’s out there. Finally to make sure you’re going to replay it a billion times more, even over and over again without it getting old, they don’t resolve the song with the key chord and you’ve got the feeling like it’s not really over.

In addition to that, you’ve got a combination of lyrics from Charlie that require a considerable amount of deciphering, and provoke thought and challenge the listener I’m a pretty good wordsmith when it comes to lyrics and the understanding there of, but Mr. Royal really encourages the listener to do much more than to drop it like it’s hot… and on a radio song no less. Teach da yoot dem still….. You’ve got the all important ‘blanket chorus’ that you can count on just about every single person in the world being able to relate to and unless you’ve got some serious skeletons in your closet, you’re bound to agree with him And hey, even if you’ve got a couple of skeletons, it still works…. People for the most part are either going to sing lyrics they don’t know the meaning of but like how they sound, or words they relate to and agree with the message in the music and don’t mind repeating it. Find a combo of the two and you’ve got yourself a smash hit. If you could go back, wouldn’t you do it all again Touche…?

Shabs Sidebar: This song here is what I like to call a perfect summer radio smash You don’t even have to know music to know – you just had to have ever turned on a radio one time in the summer… or ever been to a beach… or ever used your ears to hear things..

2. Deju Vu

This is my favorite song by Hello Beautiful That is no small statement world… it’s not like trying to pick your favourite Baha Men song or something… PS – I don’t think we ever learned who did in fact let the dogs out… I know for sure it wasn’t Michael Vick. ‘Saddle’: An old joke that still works.. When I’m showing pretty much anyone this band’s new music, Crew Members especially, this is always the first one that gets cranked. I feel that this song is both the most fluid melding of Charlie and Cole’s styles They make the perfect team… Like Murtough and Riggs… You know, from Lethal Weapon., and has the strongest edge, which appeals to me as a fan of heavier music If you were ever to give this CD to a pretty girl, chances are this would be her favourite song too..

It’s definitely interesting that they start the song with a dissonant ambience English: Kinda like a wobbly or unstable noise… not to be confused with The Stables, who are also usually wobbly…. It’s a pretty rebellious move and I think it’s very well placed, especially when they’re bound to get labeled as a pop band. To me this song helps adds the rock equivalent of ‘street cred’ to the album And you thought that was only possible by selling crack….

Again starting with a stripped down chorus with just the piano backing, the beginning has you singing along and indentifying with the song immediately. Another million-dollar drop, and I love how Charlie starts to rhyme on the first down beat. The guitar riff and rhythm behind it has me furrowing my brow and rocking out every time. The 16th notes that Kevin plays on the hi-hats combined with the half-time feel was a great decision I couldn’t agree more… I think.. I love that as the verse progresses towards the chorus, new elements are added. When you first listen to the song you’re not quite sure what to listen to, the lead line, or Charlie’s vocals. As you’ve hear the song a few times you like the fact that you’re given the option of what to pay attention to at that point and gives the song a lot of replay value Although it is a major secret, there is NO secret on how to make a hit record. Like how that didn’t make any sense, but made complete sense at the same time?.

As for the lyrics, Cole’s chorus is a wonderful example of lines that play on words, twist phrases we’re familiar with, and have you singing along by the second time you’ve heard the tune… but then when you really think about what he’s trying to say, you probably have no idea Isn’t it Ironic? Don’t you think? ;-). It’s up for debate and can be interpreted in many different ways, which is a valuable element in a song. I find myself completely immersed in Charlie’s flow within this song as well, and the lyrics fit perfectly with the theme, even ending each verse questioning the listener’s relationship to the chorus See, See…. That’s another quality of a hit record….

The instrumental bridge/breakdown in Déjà Vu is up there on my list of favorite parts in a song EVER. Darryl’s lead line using chord melody’s with the half time feel rock-out leads into the disarming and slow piano line. On the four count in the last bar before breaking into the chorus again are probably my two favorite sixteenth notes EVER I would have said the exact same thing, but I couldn’t say it like that. I was outside having a pop with Cole after their show at Tattoo with Ill Scarlett a couple of months ago and was talking to him about that part and saying it had me straight up rocking out… I loved how it wasn’t too quick and it wasn’t a full 8, it was just four bars as almost if to surprise you. Of course, he knew what I was talking about… that was the plan.. If you don’t know the song they’re an awesome surprise, and once you do know the song, the tension building as you’re approaching them get’s higher than is recommended by most doctors. To top it off, they drop and it’s like an adrenaline injection straight to the core. If you’re anything like me, you know what it’s like to hear a song that makes you drive fast. I won’t admit to breaking the law, but let’s just say this song improved my 0 to 60 average significantly. Wraps up with a tasty solo featuring a really cool tone, and a long decay, which is probably the only thing I would have changed about the song if I was at the helm, but it is something that gets people’s attention for sure See how Pete added the exclamation mark as to soften the constructive criticism. This is a smart man folks…!

Shabs Sidebar: Don’t let the name fool you… You haven’t heard a song like this before And PLEASE don’t talk to me about the similarity between the ‘strangers’ in the chorus and the Hedley song ‘Don’t Talk to Strangers’. One, because these songs were clearly written independently of each and before the other was ever heard. And Two, until the intro of their new record ‘Perfect’ stops making my feel like I need to run out and buy a pair of discount earrings from ‘The Diamond Store’, we remember that music is just music baby. PS – that is not a shot, because I do like Hedley..

3. Tick Tock

If there is a company out there that wants to know what brand development sounds like, I suggest they listen to track 4 on ‘I Wanna Die Like This As Pete mentioned with ‘Déjà Vu’, This is my favourite song on the album. ’! ‘Tick Tock’, like the other smash hits on the record we’ve already reviewed, starts with Cole and Dan alone, then a solid drop. The one bar lead pattern combined with the quick 16th notes from Kevin make for a soaring musical theme of inspiration and progress And again, just listen to the song… You don’t have to know what Pete is saying here to feel exactly what he wrote.. The verses start with simple quarters from the kick and lots of straightforward and deliberate strums from the rhythm guitar. Again the addition of elements like the snare and quiet muting as the verse progresses makes things interesting and builds tension Tension, much like a good romp in the hay, is ultra vital to the success of any song on radio..

The chorus in this song is extremely catchy and has a certain je ne cest quoi that any brand would be lucky to attach themselves to Let the pitch begin…………….. I will happily take a seat at the table and gobble up a meal similar to what Ron Burgundy had to endure for insulting San Diego if this song doesn’t explode. The only thing that could hold this track back right now is it’s relationship to Ke$ha’s breakout single Which is something I mentioned to Cole during our same outside talk 2 months ago… He again, with the utmost confidence looked at me and said, ‘Ya, but that’s just what people call the song’. And he’s right… He’s 100% right. Watch: You know that Green Day song ‘Good Riddance’ right? Sorry, let me properly spell out the song name, that may help – ‘Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)’…. Know it now? Wait, let me try it again. You know that Green Day song, ‘Time of Your Life’…. Ahhhhh, that’s better., but that sort of issue never ended up stopping the many artists that released “Around the World”. It’s just all about timing.

Shabs Sidebar: If I owned a record label right now, I’d base my reputation on this song Maybe this is why I don’t own a record label… risks aren’t really the ‘in’ thing there any more. Oh, and I also don’t have a billion dollars… That’s probably the main reason..

Hello Beautiful has made a lot of really great moves in their career. Choosing the team that put this record together is definitely one of them. The whole album is full of masterfully crafted music and these three songs are prime examples I we haven’t even touched on the others yet. I remember the first time I heard ‘Back Burner’ at George Brown last year during their rooftop frosh show with Famous. I heard it again… In my head…. For the REST OF MY LIFE.. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy, grab their old record in the process and you can hear where they’ve come from. Then catch their live show as soon as you get chance! This is definitely one of those situations where you’ll be happy to say down the road that you saw them when…

Until next time…. Keep fit and Have Fun.