.underneath.

"Is it good? As good as This Time Around?" Said Laura, April 14th as I listened to the Japanese Import of "Underneath" for the very first time.

I had all intentions of holding out until 4.20. To smoke myself some pot, and drive in a haze to the record store specifically to get this album. Funny thing, though, is that I was in Italy... and not only was I unable to smoke some pot and wander blindly all day, I was unable to get the album overseas. Knowing that I would absolutely NOT be able to survive two 8-someodd hour flights to Italy and back knowing that my Hanson album was back at home just waiting for me to listen to it, I got a hold of the import I was trying so hard to avoid and listened early, but not too early.

Was I mad that I hadn't waited? No. Not really. Any avid Hanson fan has already heard more than half of the songs on the CD, so what was a few days prelistening going to do to dampen the US release? I listened to it first in the car with the volume all of the way up and going 80 mph on the highway. I think I laughed the whole way home, singing as loud as I could to the lyrics I knew and bopping along to the lyrics I didn't, and then I almost cried when "Believe" came on. Even now it still seems a little surreal to have this album, some tangible evidence of Hanson's music beyond shoddy tape-recorder quality MP3's from shows on mix CDs that are illegal on Hanson.net. Something decent, that I can show to other people and say, "This is Hanson." I have not been able to stop playing this album for the past 3 weeks straight. So is it good? Well, yes. Yes, I think it is.

Is it another This Time Around? No. But it's better, I think. As with anything Hanson seems to produce it always seems age appropriate. Hanson writes about life as they are at that moment. Hanson have this uncanny ability to write music that captures how feelings sound. They evoke just the right feelings and brilliantly personify what it is to be a teenager. This Time Around was introspective, honest, revealing. It was hopeful, unsure of itself, and reckless in the way that teenagers are. Underneath is decidedly not a Night Time Bed Time Record like This Time Around was, but rather a Volume Up, Windows Down, 90MPH Record. And how completely appropriate is that? If I were to characterize Underneath like I characterized This Time Around a few sentences ago, I would be more apt to say descriptors like, "bold, jaded, burdened, and worn down." But still hopeful in that Hanson way of hope. Underneath is a more mature, late teens, cigarette smokin', beer drinkin', devirginizin', car drivin' look at the world than our younger, more innocent, "We only smoke cigars sometimes" and "Sex, what's that?", This Time Around version of Hanson.

Love it or hate it, this record is a shining golden star for Hanson and an all around success. I'm so proud of them, like I'm their mother or something. Anyway, because I'm disorganized I have set up my detailed analyzations in sections. Some have bullets and some don't. Go figure.

And I'm falling...........................................

We Were In Love...
(FAVORITE THINGS)

  • "Strong Enough To Break" ... I loved this song instantly when I heard it back in 2001 on that radio interview, I loved it on the acoustic record, and I love it double time now. This is probably one of my favorite studio transitions on the record!
  • "Deeper" - Oh my god, what the fuck, I like "Deeper" ... No. I fucking love "Deeper." This song went from being really lame and stupid and boring and skippable on the Acoustic Record to one of my favorite things to listen to. How the fuck did that happen?
  • I like how on this album they did a lot of subtle Britpoppy electronic things. For example: In the beginning of "Broken Angel" with those little random notes. This type of things occurs frequently throughout the record, and it's a good effect for a studio album.
  • The strings on many tracks. "Broken Angel" and "Underneath" notably. I especially like when Zac says, "And you go so high, and swoop so low" and the strings ascend and descend. It's a moment of musical brilliance - if not on Hanson's part... someone's part. And it's so good. There is a similar effect later in the song at "Even Angels Die" but this time it's with the rhythm instruments (piano, drums, guitar) ... equally as exciting, though.
  • The brass on "Crazy Beautiful" ... gives the song this edgy Big Band type of sound. This song is so vastly different from its acoustic version (as promised by Taylor) and both are so well done that it is impossible to decide which I like more. And the remix later on the CD is brilliant. I get the impression that it was a Zac "Bored one day" on Protools incarnation. Or maybe Isaac. Whoever it was... it was brilliant. The loud banging piano octaves and the hyperactive sounding, "Oooooh....CRAZY!" Go Hanson!
  • "Hey" - Isaac's sexy guitar track ... Taylor's hot white boy scatting. What more is there to say?
  • "Ooooh-aaahhs" seen in many places throughout this record in harmonic layers. This is something Hanson has not explored to this extent on any record past, and sometimes its so subtle you hardly even notice it... but it adds a lot. You can hear it in "Crazy Beautiful," "Believe," " Misery," "Deeper" -- I particularly like the layer they add in "Deeper" at the chorus - "Falling" - The melody "falls" into the rest of the phrase while the background harmonies hold out one big long "ahhh." You just get the feeling of an actual exhilarating fall. I believe this is the sole reason "Deeper" is good.
  • The guitar parts seen throughout the record... Finally we've moved on from boring blah background guitar parts to something interesting! See: Strong Enough To Break, Deeper, Hey
  • "Lulla Belle" is completely lovely. It sounds like a music box. And a Beatles tune. It's like a Beatles tune in a Music Box. I love the trombone. It gives it warm tone.
  • I like Michelle Branch's harmony in "Deeper" ... Even more? I like that you would never know she was there.
  • Exploration of new time signatures and harmonies is apparent. My friend Lauren complained that she couldn't listen to "Crazy Beautiful" because the meter was too fucked up for her. Some kind of 6/8 but in a weird tempo. I don't know, I think that it's half of the charm of the song.
  • The "Murder wears..." verse in "Believe" ... Isaac's bass harmony. Wow. What is that chord? It's so fucking good.

    We Were Sad...
    (DISAPPOINTMENTS)
    Having heard most every song on the album acoustically prior to my first listen took away some of the initial sparkle of playing, buying, absorbing this album for the first time. The acoustic-record factor also made some of the new studio versions of the tracks seem awkward and over-done to me. Some critics have claimed that they feel this album sounded overproduced and gadgety, and that Hanson's humanity was barely decipherable underneath the blur of engineering and polishing. Though I don't think it is that bad, I did find a few things exposed in the acoustic versions of the songs that were non-applicable on the record. For example, the build in the title track, "Underneath," heard so clearly on the acoustic record: Taylor's soft, personal whispering, "If only you could feel what I dream," to an intense, "MISSING CAN'T YOU SEE?" Which becomes much less personal and not nearly as intense on the album recording.

    Hanson also has a tendency, which is not as noticeable until you listen to the different versions, to throw in a lot of crazy guitar sound. For example, the iTunes special of "Love Somebody To Know" vs. the acoustic recording of the same song. I feel very strongly that the acoustic recording of that song works volumes better than the studio recording. It's like, they got into the studio, threw some electric guitar track on there... and it all went down hill from there. Some of their songs are definitely written for a big, electric set with loud drums and booming bass parts, but others are meant to remain stripped down. I think, that if I had heard the studio version of "Love Somebody To Know" FIRST I would not like the song nearly as much. Underneath culprits of this Hanson over-doing-it disease are not frequent enough for complaint, but worth the mention. Tracks like "When You're Gone" and "Broken Angel" came across as a bit much on my initial listen but have since grown on me. Some people immediately LOVED the studio recordings, but for me it took some getting used to before I found myself absolutely loving it. In the end, I think Hanson chose the best songs for the album that, for the fans who have been listening to the acoustic stuff, show great contrast, and for the people who are just picking up Hanson music for the first time since 97, show great growth, musicianship, and variety. Underneath shows what Hanson can really do without giving away too much.

    ON A MORE RANDOM NOTE:

  • I didn't like "Dancing In The Wind" as much as I imagined I would. Probably the most mediocre track on this record. Lyrically unimpressive, etc. I imagine this is a track that I will have to see live before I can appreciate it. Like "In The City"
  • What's with all of the boring Zac songs? How did "Lulla Belle" get shunted off as "Bonus Track" when "Misery" comes first and foremost? What about "Tightrope" the most amazing Zac song ever?

    We Were Confused...
    (LYRICAL WHAT?)
    "You can't ever understand a word these guys are saying!" - A friend on her test run of "Underneath"
    The lyrics on this album are, unsurprisingly, as indecipherable as lyrics on any Hanson album. Thank God for the lyric book. However, when I was reading it late the other night I noticed a few things that totally threw me for a loop. It's like... The Hanson Lyrics I Never Ever Knew Were Hanson Lyrics At All.
  • I never knew: Half of the first verse of "Penny and Me"
  • "Dancing In The Wind" is the most nonsubstantial song lyrically, ever. I think it competes with the chorus of "Down" in the nonsubstantialness.
  • "Liquid" is the first word of "Crazy Beautiful." Who knew?
  • I was relieved to note that Hanson did not put the Hanson.net version of "Penny and Me" lyrics in the booklet. I would have flipped out if they were actually saying "Coffee cakes by the fireplace."
  • When I see some lyrics, I wonder if I've just been ignoring that part or making up my own words. PERFECT EXAMPLE in "Lost Without Each Other" ... third line. In the book it says, "I asked about you and she said, Can't say, Can't say," and I was sitting there like, "I do not recall that line at all." Then when I went to listen to the song... I discovered that the line is completely and totally indecipherable... and what it really sounds like is... "I asked you spit puh spit Can't saaa-eee-aaayy!"
  • "Ooh's" in the lyric book are actually written in different lengths. Longer Ooh's are written "Oooooh" ... just like they are sung.
  • Another "Lost Without Each Other" lyric: "Hiding from my feelings" or "Running from my feelings" ... the lyric book says "Running" but I thought it was "Hiding" and in the end it really just sounds like "Riding" ... "Riding from my feelings" - hehe. Fun imagery there.
  • "Get together" a phrase I never thought would here uttered from a Hanson's lips... nevermind in the context of a song!
  • "Baby, is it pulling on your heart?" ... Lyrics that you never knew and never will.

    We Were Examinate...
    (ACOUSTIC VS ELECTRIC, US VS JAPANESE, UND VS TTA)
  • HANSON MATH: Japan Underneath = Three Japanese Bonus Tracks + 1 Secret Track - Get Up and Go ...Whereas... Get Up and Go - 3 Japanese Tracks + Crazy Beautiful Remix = Underneath US.
  • The Acronyms for Underneath are absolutely appalling. LWEO? EWIS? GUAG?
  • MEL: "Believe" is actually listed as track 13 on this CD. I thought Hanson was afraid of that, or something...
    LAURA: Well, apparently they're over it.
  • Regardless of the fact that there are more tracks on the Japanese import version of the album, and thus, more Hanson to enjoy... I would much rather listen to the US version. Why? Because it's paced better. "Get Up and Go" in between "Deeper" and "Crazy Beautiful" to me, works better than sitting through "Dream Girl," "I Almost Care," and "With You In Your Dreams" after the brilliant closure "Believe" carries out. I feel the same way about the Australian "This Time Around" with thouse four B-sides. Though some people complain, I feel that the album is paced better this way... and those other songs are just that: B-sides and Bonus Tracks. Good songs, but not belonging on this album.
  • SONGS THAT DID BETTER ELECTRIC: Misery, Deeper, Strong Enough To Break
  • SONGS THAT DID BETTER ACOUSTIC: When You're Gone, Penny and Me (But only half decided on this, my other half is in the "Can't decide" section below)
  • SONGS THAT ARE SO GOOD THAT THEY WORK NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO WITH THEM: Crazy Beautiful, Hey, Underneath
  • SONGS THAT DON'T REALLY MATTER, OR I CAN'T DECIDE, OR DON'T APPLY TO THE ABOVE CATEGORIES: Penny and Me, Dancing in The Wind, Lost Without Each Other, Lulla Belle, Believe, Get Up And Go, Broken Angel

    We Were Staring...
    (ALBUM ARTWORK, LINER INTEREST, ETC)
  • WTF happened to that clear slipcover? Are Japanese fans better than us, or something?
  • If you got the CD with the DVD did you get orange headphones and w/o did you get blue ones? Mine has orange ones, when all along I thought they were going to be blue. It doesn't really make a difference to me... I'm just puzzled is all. Watch me go into the store next week and pick up the CD to find all of the colors totally inverted, and get really confused.
  • They have one of those lyric books that falls out in folds rather than opens like a book. TTA's opened like a book. I liked it better that way, it's easier to handle. Damn Hanson. They're so hard to handle, sometimes.
  • I like the minimalistic layout... but I find the way that the liners are all written in a circle really annoying!
  • The cord is continuous, but it is not a 360 degree continuation. This was slightly disappointing to me, for some reason. I think it's really cool, though... The cord thing... Yeah...
  • Almost every track is copyrighted in 2001.
  • I have no idea who David Silver is, but gosh darnit, he is an amazing human being.
  • The dedication to the fans made me so happy. When all along I've been accusing them of never knowing, never understanding, never being able to make the crossover... I was wrong. Thank you Hanson. This music has made a difference in my year.

    We Were Swept Away...
    (LYRICAL YAYS)
  • THEMES/REPEATED IMAGERY, ETC: Listening & Flying. Interesting. Surprising? Not really, for some reason. In fact, for Hanson, the line "ARE YOU LISTENING?" has many layers. Someone on Hanson.net was saying that Hanson had thought about naming the record, "Are You Listening?" Though I think this is just random bullshit, I find it an appropriately interesting concept. The headphones on the cover of the album say it loud enough, I think. Hanson wants to be heard, as artists, as what they are now. Their best blessing is their largest burden, and the question one poses to "MmmBop" comments is just that, "Have you heard them lately?"
  • BELIEVE: Probably one of the darkest tracks on the record that has already been the cause of Hanson fan discussion across the globe and back. What does it mean? Is it about suicidal tendencies? Addiction? Or Both? What the hell is going on here, Hanson? Please tell us? Please? While I could probably write for days about this one, paired up with "End Of The Line" (which I still think talks about girls giving blowjobs for drugs) I'll try and keep it brief in this already too-long analysis. Someone said, somewhere, that "Believe" was the "A Song To Sing" of "Underneath." The only difference is that "Believe" is hopeless. Completely, and utterly hopeless. The speaker "Wants to Believe" but he can't even bring himself to do that. All of his lies, the apparent layers and layers of them are all crashing down on him, and he can't seem to find a way out of it - he can't even stand himself. He doesn't know anything, anyone, or even himself anymore... and hey, you know what sounds like a good idea? Murder. Suicide. "Like the perfect end in a plastic vial." I feel like that line is a double meaning. A) The perfect ending (suicide) in overdose. Or... B) I want to do a lot of drugs and just forget about it. Jesus. The whole thing makes me want to kill myself. There is not even a remote glimmer of hope in this song, in fact the last line of the song is, "I can't believe in nothing." How sad. I don't think I would have survived it if that schizophrenic "Crazy Beautiful" didn't come within five minutes.
  • WHEN YOU'RE GONE: Ashley Greyson said something silly on Hanson.net about this song. I think he said something like, "Oh, if you don't get this song you don't get the band." Which is ridiculous, but it made me think anyway. "When You're Gone" in relation to Hanson. It is like so much on this record - if you don't know them... if you don't know what they're about, or what has been going on these past few years... it's just another song. "When You're Gone" is probably one of the most blatantly autobiographical tracks on the record (next to "Believe") ... They allude the music business to this terrible abusive journey. Plainly, Hanson feels like they've been pushed around and buried... by the record industry, by the media, and worst of all: by us. They've been dolled up and shown around to be this silly thing that they are not, and God Damnit, it still hurts. All that we had is disappearing, and we're being stuck in the "has-been" pile with no control, and no way to get back. BUT WAIT! There is a saving grace when the speaker finds his answers. "Well I've finally found, what I'm looking for... Though the road's still long and the light is still far..."
    I think my favorite metaphor in this song is this: "There is no resolution when the revolution's dead." Wow, that's a big kick in the balls to MTV, Universal, Britney Spears and any other Music Industry Mush Giant.
  • PENNY AND ME: I am so sick of hearing this song, but so not sick of it at the same time. I loved this track the moment I heard it last year on that radio interview before the Lifebeat Benefit. Hanson explained it well, sometime. I think it was on one of the interviews they did during Drop Week. Penny and Me is about how music weaves in and out of the infrastructure that is life (says Hanson). It's about how music connects people ... how listening to a song can bring back memories of nights up late, conversations, and summer cruises with all of the windows down. I think anyone with half a heart in music that was ever 18 can identify with this song on a thousand different levels, and that's why it's so brilliant, and fun, and listenable. Fun fact: Hanson even said at some point that "Penny" was actually like "Penny Lane" - as in The Beatles, but I secretly think it's an Almost Famous allusion. ;)
  • SONGS ABOUT IDJ?: I think this whole record is really just a spit in IDJ's face. Like... Ha-ha-ha look at us now! Ha-ha-ha. They write about them so much. It's everywhere. "Strong Enough To Break" ... "When You're Gone" ... "Broken Angel" ... even a little bit of "Believe" ... All I can really think is... "Go Hanson!"

    We Were Conclusive...
    (HANSON IS WRONG ABOUT THEIR MUSIC, YET AGAIN)
    You know all of that crap they said about this being the mellowest record that they've come up with yet? Well they're lying. Don't take that bullshit. This is possibly one of the most dynamic, yet surprisingly upbeat records they've produced! A lot of tracks are midtempo, but the ballad ratio is down to about... Zero... and with tracks like, "Hey," "Lost Without Each Other," "Dancing In The Wind" and "Get Up And Go," all jammed onto one record it is hardly "mellow." Not to mention the fact that all of the other tracks besides those exceptionally uptempo ones aren't exactly slow, mellow, ballad-y love songs. This record makes me want to dance around my room! Silly Hanson.

    Anyway. I'm bad at this saying goodbye thing... so I shall leave you with this message from our sponsors...

    Sorry, distracted... The REAL message...