From The Closet: Hum
“She thinks she missed the train to Mars, she’s out back counting stars.” Before the Cadillac commercial, I was a 13-year old kid when I first discovered Hum. Best known for their 1995 hit “Stars,” the Champaign, Illinois quartet combined heavy-distorted guitars, melodic-monotone vocals, and songs about plants, dreams and suicide machines that proved a breath of fresh air from Pearl Jam-clones in the mid-nineties. 1995’s LP You’d Prefer an Astronaut is a solid effort, but 1998’s Downward is Heavenward is a ten-song epic adventure through space. For every tender moment sung by lead-singer Matt Talbot, there’s a sonic blast of splintering guitars that erupt like a goddamn Android Volcano! I’m not quite sure what that means but you can judge for yourself by listening to my favorite Hum song, “I Hate it Too.”