Album Notes

THE GROUP


John San Juan (vocals, guitar, piano) and Joe Camarillo (vocals, drums, guitar) formed the group in their native Chicago sometime in the mid-90s. Though both Camarillo and San Juan have found plenty of work (often together) with various groups over the years (among them Material Issue, The Webb Brothers, The Waco Brothers, Pruno, Ness, and Kevin Tihista's Red Terror), it has always been the Hushdrops that best captures the musical chemistry between the two. Chief among their collective attributes are an ability to write "inevitable" songs that seem like they've always existed, an uncanny knack for equally obvious (yet neither "clever" nor ineffective) vocal harmony, an experimental streak that never seems to rob the music of it's most basic impact, and an ensemble dynamic that recalls the powerful yet subtle aesthetic of groups like the Who or Led Zeppelin at their best. Their earliest work can be heard on such singles as "Summer People" (later covered by the Webb Brothers with some international success), and "Miami Rap". Though their first long player was recorded as a duo, any number of bass players came and went before the arrival of Jim Shapiro (ex-Veruca Salt) shortly after the completion of Volume One.


THE ALBUM


Volume One is their debut long player.


Recorded in Chicago over a period of two years (mostly by engineer Neal Ostrovsky at his studio, B-Side Audio), the album takes in 14 gorgeous and varied gems of childlike simplicity in little over 40 minutes.


San Juan: "Recording the album before seeking a licensee may be the only smart thing we've ever done. Our experiences with other bands had taught us just how poisonous the influence of various moneymen and/or label and management politics can be to the actual music. We'd both seen many a potentially great work of art absolutely neutered to the point of irrelevance by several different varieties of brain trust or committee-often within a band. If existing completely under anyone's radar has offered any advantage, it's that it allowed us to actually make the record that we've always wanted to hear. 'Playing the game'-as it were-has landed plenty of our acquaintances and colleagues in the unemployment line (or worse) without so much as a decent record to show for it. Making this record without focusing on the peripheral aspects of this particular industry seemed like the only sensible option."


SOUNDS LIKE.......


Tacitly (or explicitly, depending on one's perspective), the boys owe an enormous debt to acts like The Who (the Hushdrops' recent performance of Tommy was, dynamically, not atypical of their concerts), My Bloody Valentine, Led Zeppelin, The Descendants, The Smiths, The Buzzcocks, Joni Mitchell, The Zombies, Pink Floyd, Broadcast, Black Sabbath, Todd Rundgren, Lush, Cheap Trick, The Beach Boys, The Soft Boys, Stereolab, The Beatles, Cardigans, Burt Bacharach, Sonic Youth, NRBQ, as well as many a lesser known talent.


Be that as it may, the Hushdrops don't appear to have embraced any specific style, genre, or movement. Least of all, anything as limp as "power pop" (a charge that has occasionally been hurled at the group). As anyone who buys records will know-claims of "timelessness", "depth", and "stylistic breadth" are routinely made on behalf of many a wretched or dull act or album. However, such hyperbole accurately describes the magic of the Hushdrops and Volume One.