Numbers & Mumbles

 Numbers & Mumbles builds on the quirky formula found on 2002's Discosadness, but the new record is often more upbeat than the last, maintaining indie integrity but certainly crammed with hooks. Electric guitars and gurgling synths spatter over indie, pop, punk and rock rhythms. Songs present characters who contemplate spaceships, circus tricks, Brooklyn hipsters, tractor beams, secret decoder rings, kisses, bus trips, Sweden, family quotas, tee-ball, meter maids, futurism, moon bounces and more. But do no mistake the topic nature for a lack of poignancy, the band simply refuses to take itself too seriously. Say Hi's minimalist pop has been compared to Grandaddy, Bright Eyes, Pavement, Radiohead, The Pixies, The Velvet Underground, Momus and others.