Hello Kelly

Everybody loves Canadians. They’re friendly, well mannered and won’t hesitate to throw down in a hockey fight if you call them a sissy-boy hoser. Nationalist stereotypes aside, the guys in the Canadian outfit Hello Kelly have offered up some friendly, well-mannered, fast-paced pop/punk/rock that will smack a hockey stick of rock across your face – and you’ll be singing the whole time.

The self-titled disc combines high-energy rock, heavy guitars and huge drums with whirling synths in a way that’s reminiscent of Motion City Soundtrack. The first two tracks, “10 Good Reasons” and “Bring It Broken” hit hard while bringing home a message of humility and what it is to truly understand how God takes us as we are without having to rely on our works. The more mid-tempo “Disappearing” has radio single written all over it. You’ll be singing along by the second chorus, but the lyrical content is left so vague (more than likely on purpose), that it leaves interpretation open to the listener…and conveniently opens a door to a crossover radio single. And speaking of which, the “Radio Edit Interlude” will make you chuckle with its satire about lifeless, cheesy and painfully deliberate radio singles complete with strings and overly tuned vocals. So does that mean they made fun of themselves?

What’s unfortunate about any wall of rock is that it’s been done before in many different ways almost to the point where nothing that happens is truly unexpected. Some of the most interesting moments on the record are when they break from this formula. The keyboards and programming are present in the whole record, but usually reside in the background. While up-tempo, melodic rock is nothing new to music, the CD reveals a few gems when the buzzing and blipping synths overpower stuttered acoustic guitars and create something unique and different. Of special note is “No Time For Tears”. This Hellogoodbye-meets-OneRepublic tune is not only refreshing to hear, but touches on the topic of broken marriages. Kudos to a Christian band that isn’t afraid to tackle heavier issues when commercial success seems to follow surface smiles and endless Jesus-laden choruses.

For the most part, the lyrical content relies heavily on a recurring theme of the personal and internal struggle of the average Christian. Each song addresses different subjects, but they are undoubtedly a personal and almost loathsome autobiography of the every day struggles that all Christians face. For instance, “The Right Thing” deals with (you guessed it) doing the right thing while the ever so hooky “My Girlfriend” tells a jealous boyfriends’ tale where it seems that every guy is out to steal his girlfriend. While both are completely different, they’re related by the common theme of self-control just like several other tracks on the disc.

The most exciting and interesting parts of this record are no-doubt the massive guitars, whizzing synths, pounding drums and singable melodies. The lyrics, while sending a good message, seem to lack an element of ingenuity. The most original tune is probably “Paper Bag Princess (Hey Elizabeth)” – a quirky love song to a “paper bag princess” from her knight in “tin foil armor”. This may not be the deepest of meanings but you have to admit that it’s songs like these that stick out because of an original, clever metaphor.

And that’s what this bands lacks the most – visual imagery and lyrics that are memorable. Devoid of hardly any truly clever metaphors and with sometimes-awkward phrasing, most of the songs lack that extra spark to make incredible songs, even though the instrumentation is definitely there on some of them. Nevertheless, it’s still an extremely fun record that will pound your stereo into a pile of plastic rubble.

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