Hum
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Hum
- Electra 2000 +1 (MGH001)
CD $12.00 
1997
reissue of Hum's 2nd full-length album originally issued
in 1993. This edition adds the bonus track "Diffuse"
which was recorded during the Electra 2000 sessions,
but was initially included only on a compilation disc
(Feast Of The Sybarites) from a Lawrence, Kansas
label. The band's first album featuring new members Tim
Lash and Jeff Dimpsey, thereby redefining their sound;
this is roaring, dynamic rock for fans of Failure,
Shiner,
Smashing Pumpkins, etc. The album that spawned interest
from a number of major labels, eventually netting them
a 3 album deal with RCA Records. Matt Talbott (Centaur/Honcho
Overload), Tim Lash (Glifted),
Jeff Dimpsey (National
Skyline, Honcho
Overload, Poster
Children, Bad Flannel), and Bryan St. Pere.
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Hum
- You'd
Prefer An Astronaut (RCA Records)
CD $11.50 
Third album from Champaign band that spawned the single
"Stars." Produced by Keith Cleversley &
Adam Schmitt. Matt
Talbott (Centaur/Honcho
Overload), Tim Lash (Glifted),
Jeff Dimpsey (National
Skyline, Honcho
Overload, Poster
Children, Bad Flannel), and Bryan St. Pere.
For
fans of My
Bloody Valentine, Seam,
Bitch Magnet, Helmet,
Smashing
Pumpkins, Failure,
Deftones,
Swervedriver, Sunny
Day Real Estate, Lovecup,
Centaur,
Glifted,
etc.
(1995)
Signal Drench names YPAA the #8 album
of the 90s: Hum's
placement at number eight should come as no surprise to
the Midwestern dreamers that elevated what an outsider
might cast off as "that album with 'Stars' on it"
to a ritual of daily existence. Simple logic would presume
that sooner or later, this album's magic would deteriorate
for someone who has listened to it more than any other
ten albums combined, but I have never found myself to
be less than consumed with You'd Prefer an Astronaut.
I've lived and breathed this album since I bought it,
and it will always be a large part of my life.
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Hum
- Downward
Is Heavenward (RCA Records)
CD $11.50 
Excellent
4th album! Shoegazer sonics met with oblique, melodic
singing. Imagine a sci-fi Swervedriver meets Failure.
Terrific stuff from Matt Talbott (Centaur/Honcho
Overload), Tim Lash (Glifted),
Jeff Dimpsey (National
Skyline, Honcho
Overload, Poster
Children, Bad Flannel), and Bryan St. Pere. For fans
of My
Bloody Valentine, Seam,
Bitch Magnet, Helmet,
Smashing
Pumpkins, Failure,
Deftones,
Swervedriver, Sunny
Day Real Estate, Lovecup,
Centaur,
Glifted,
etc. (1997)
from Pitchfork Media: These four Champaign,
Illinois boys string effects pedals together like a charm
bracelet, and their amp stack must resemble the mountain
of crates in the closing shot of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Layers and layers of guitars swarm like hornets and harriers
around your head, as the occasional intricate detail bursts
out as if one buzzed right by your ear. A listen to Downward
Is Heavenward actually scrubs off a layer of skin, yet
Hum still manage to infuse grace and control into their
skyward swirl. |
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Gazelle
- Sunblown (AHA!090)
CD $12.75 
Gazelle’s 2008 debut album is a bounty of electro-rock
sensuality from two of the local rock scene’s veterans:
studio wizard Jeff Dimpsey (Hum,
National Skyline,
Honcho Overload)
and vocalist Adam Fein (Absinthe
Blind). Ten tracks of overcast, melodic postrock,
serenely psychedelic. Features a guest appearance from
Adam's sister Erin Fein, another former Absinthe Blind
vocalist, who now sings for local/global superstars Headlights.
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Centaur-
In Streams (MGH003)
CD $12.75 
2003 debut album by Champaign-Urbana trio led by singer/guitarist
Matt Talbott (Hum/Honcho
Overload) with bassist Derek Niedringhaus (Castor/Sarge/The
Big Bright Lights/National
Skyline), and drummer Jim Kelly (Sixteen
Tons/Monitor/Sloworm). Imagine "In Streams"
as the tropical night sky of a new hemisphere, strewn
with comfortably numb strobe-rock epics, weirdly enchanted
psychedelic pop songs, and the occasional spaced-out prog
opus whirling by. These songs explore the strength and
frailty of human life, songs of loss and longing. Still
hip deep in an earthy mysticism (with natural and supernatural
phenomena, as always, key themes), Talbott’s lyrics
betray a profound and, at times, desolate melancholy and
suggest the personal story behind this album that proves
too tragic to relate. Matt’s vocals, at the forefront
here for the first time, are a vibrant presence, no longer
buried in the bombast as the hurricane of sound behind
him gives way to a sinuous tangle of waterspouts... It’s
in the eye of each of these storms that Centaur, aided
and abetted by producer-shaman Keith Cleversley (Hum,
The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, Spritualized, The Posies,
Duraluxe) has seeded the clouds with all manner of subtle,
nay subliminal sonic finery; chimes, flugelhorn, sitar,
piano, and deer. Cleversley is a long-time fan of Hum
and of Matt’s work in general, and feels that the
emotionally rich Centaur is one of the best records he’s
been lucky enough to be a part of. For fans of Hum,
My
Bloody Valentine, Lovecup,
Failure,
Red
House Painters/Sun
Kil Moon, etc. |
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Glifted
- Under and In (MGH004)
CD $12.75 
"This is some of the most impressive post-Loveless
rock in years." - All Music Guide
"Under And In" is the brilliant 2003 debut by
two key figures in the Champaign-Urbana rock scene - Tim
Lash (of Hum)
and T.J. Harrison (of Lovecup)
- teaming up under the name Glifted. This great album
lives up to the high expectations set for the duo with
a hypnotic blend of disembodied voices, swelling guitars,
and looping percussion. A headswimming collision of sound
that comes highly recommended to mourners of guitarrorists
My
Bloody Valentine and Seefeel, as well as worshippers
of the evocative crush of musical innovation. Through
Hum, Tim's guitar work has influenced numerous heavy hitters
in search of the perfect riff like The
Deftones. Through touring, Hum formed a musical kinship
with Mercury
Rev. Somehow "Under And In" straddles the
line between both musical realms. It's heavy and overwhelming.
It's cinematic and sensual. It's a million tiny exploding
universes. And it's better than I ever could have conceived.
I don't mean to oversell this, but I truly hear this as
one of those great, transfixing GUITAR albums destined
to influence forthcoming albums. It's that good! Highly
recommended to fans of Hum,
Lovecup,
My
Bloody Valentine, Seefeel, Mercury
Rev, Polvo,
Castor,
Twin
Princess, Flying
Saucer Attack, Mice
Parade, Guitar,
M83,
etc. |
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Hum
- Sundress/Time Is Melting (MUD009)
7-inch OUT OF PRINT
An
early single from these guys featuring a different band
line-up playing the original version of “Sundress”
which was later re-recorded for Electra 2000.
Includes the exclusive B-side track “Time Is Melting.”
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Hum
- Downward Is Heavenward (MGH002)
12-inch LP OUT OF PRINT
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| Compilations |
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Various
- The Mud Puddle Playoffs (MUD-CD-000)
CD $7.50 
Includes the Hum track "Sundress" from the band's
second single, making this the earliest Hum recording
currently commercially available!! |

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