Truly different lo-fi disco indie-pop in the tradition of Apples in Stereo and Of Montreal. A Soft Kill is the third full-length album by the the one man band (Mario Hernandez) known as From Bubblegum To Sky. The hook-laden pop that may take three or four listens to stick. Using elements of Peggy March’s “I Will Follow Him” on the song “Say Goodbye” is a highlight here and then if you didn’t know better you’d swear that it’s Robert Schneider singing on “My Je M’appelle.” The Beach Boys production style meets Rubinoos guitar parts is all over “Even The Sunbeams.” So what’s with that name? As Mario puts it, “I chose the name From Bubblegum to Sky, because I didn’t want it to be like a “Mario Hernandez” thing. It would feel odd for me to see my name on a record like that. The things that people are doing to me, or I’m doing to them, or whatever experiences I’m having-that’s the band.” The smooth acoustic bounce of “Guest Relations” is a good tune, but the best song here is “The Flash” with it’s fuzz guitar melody and “ba ba ba” chorus. But other songs clearly miss the mark, notably “Captian Tennille,” “A Soft Kill” and “Flies on The King Of Failed.” The more it moves into twee shoegazer mode and away from pop melodies, it falls flat. Listen to the the entire Bubblegum To Sky album here. Want something different — check this out. Only the previous album is on CDBaby, but I expect this one to show up any day now.
MySpace | Eenie Meenie | CD Baby (last album) | E-Music
Listen to “I always fall apart”