Music Review // Hippy "Falling in Love with Being Alive"

 

https://open.spotify.com/album/26tnIlBYGo7JxNWXiqBCIx?si=r9AlPI6cQX2nTGtk0GNA-g&dl_branch=1&nd=1

With the name Hippy I would expect this to sound more like a jam 

band, something like Phish, than it does and the fact that it doesn't sound like that isn't a bad thing at all.   When the album first starts the sound I hear reminds me of the song "Come Together" and that has a bit of that free love vibe I expected but that's really about where that comparison ends.

Overall this sound feels very specific to the 1980's when there was this acoustic version of pop rock on the radio.   Hippy would fit in so perfectly with artists such as Genesis, John Mellencamp and Tom Petty, as this music is a blend of those styles but also with an added touch all their own.  I also feel like, especially on "Vicious Circle", that this one brings out some Toad the Wet Sprocket, but in some ways I'm sure you could trace those '90's vibes back to the '80's.

On some level you can listen to these songs and not pay much attention to the lyrics but still get a lot out of it- they're such solid songs.   But at the same time, if you choose to listen to and really dissect the lyrics you're also going to have a good time because as the hook says in the titular track: "I wanna fall in love with being alive".   That's something I feel like a lot of people struggle with because with most people (sometimes myself included) it just feels like we're trying to get by.

The song "Deep River Man" has a full out police chase on it in audio form and so if you're listening to this album while driving it is possible you think you are getting pulled over.  This remains one of those things that musicians do that I don't like (because I fall for it) but also if I was a musician I would totally do it.    Still, this acoustic brand of rock should leave you wanting more as they just don't make bands like this anymore.