Four and a half years removed from their sappy 2006 electropop hit Here (In Your Arms), Hellogoodbye has changed. A lot. Co-founder Jesse Kurvink left in 2008, leaving singer/songwriter Forrest Kline to take control. Then, a lengthy lawsuit with former label Drive-Thru Records kept a sophomore effort sidelined until last years Would It Kill You? No surprise then is the shift in sound, from the tired synth imitations of their debut to one more reminiscent of power-pop contemporaries like Motion City Soundtrack. While their commercial success was left in the past decade, Would It Kill You? is a nice surprise thats full of great pop tunes without the antics. With Jukebox The Ghost, Gold Motel, Now, Now Every Children. BRYDEN MCGRATH
Fri., Feb. 25, 7:30 p.m., 2011
