Hellogoodbye
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Hellogoodbye

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“We haven’t quite hit ten years yet, but we’re getting there. I think we’re almost hitting nine,” Kline clarifies. “It’s been a long time and I think in a lot of ways we’re kind of coming back to the way that we started. We never really got too far away from where we started, but we’re kind of coming back to the things that I loved about it originally: the touring, the travelling and having a good time.”

Inevitably, however, much has altered since our last rendezvous with Hellogoodbye. Four years between albums secured for Kline the opportunity to settle and refocus. “I got married, I built a studio that kind of changed the whole kind of musicality of what I was doing,” he explains. “I got a bunch of instruments and had enough to toy around and learn how to play different things, learn how to record in different ways.”

The intervening years culminated in the creation of Would It Kill You?, Hellogoodbye’s sophomore LP. Concerning the project’s direction, Kline opted to let the album inform itself. “My biggest intention was to not have any intentions really and just make songs that kind of came out and not worry if they were this kind of song or that kind of song. I let them guide themselves, really.”

As Would It Kill You? began to take shape, a few thematic consistencies emerged. “There’s a couple of themes. It’s far from a concept album or anything, but a lot of it reflects letting go, going with the flow and just enjoying things for what they are. Most of the things in life you can’t change anyway, so you just appreciate what they are on their own,” Kline explains. “A lot of it is that and a lot of it is long-term relationship stuff. I was in a long-term relationship for that entire period and now I’m married, so there’s that whole transition kind of covered.”

Meanwhile, Kline could not be more enthusiastic concerning the in-studio execution of the new material, with the very basics of Would It Kill You? founded upon an important partnership. “We worked with the same producer (Matt Mahaffey) as the last record, co-producing it. It was great, because I knew what a great job he did on the last record and I knew the things he really brought to the table and his strengths. I knew exactly how he’d work on this record. He’s very flexible, he can do everything – all kinds of music.”

A longtime staple of Hellogoodbye’s approach has been Kline’s trusty ukulele. The instrument frequently resurfaces throughout Would It Kill You?, from the romantic chronology of When We First Met to the unassured hypothetical stylings of The Thoughts That Give Me The Creeps . Kline’s fascination with the instrument is stooped in a simplicity. “I always loved the sound of it. They’re tight, small and they’re pretty easy to play. You can play something on the guitar that sounds boring – it’s no big deal. Then you can play it on ukulele and go ‘Wow, this sounds pretty interesting and neat!’ ”

The irony of the instrument’s sudden popularity both here and abroad is not lost on the front man. “I think we were ahead of the curve on it,” he declares. “It’s kind of frustrating that always seems to be the case. I didn’t pick it up because I thought it was the hippest thing on the planet! I didn’t think it was hip at all!”

Though the writing, recording and completion of Would It Kill You? would unfold neatly, the band’s departure from label Drive-Thu Records would hinder its release. A year-long battle for the record to see the light of day ensued. “We actually finished the record while we were still on the label. We weren’t really working with them – we were in a lawsuit with them – but we didn’t know what was going to happen. We didn’t know if we were going to put it out ourselves, or get stuck,” Kline reveals.

Eventually, Hellogoodbye broke free from their legal tangle and were left to weigh up their options. “When we found ourselves in the position, finally and happily, where we had options… we thought ‘How can we put out this record?’,“ Kline recalls. “The most attractive thing immediately was to do it ourselves. So we were like ‘Now we’re free agents, let’s do it ourselves!’ We kind of realised that having a record label sucks. You have to give so much away. You’re like, ‘What am I really gaining, giving all this to you?’ It doesn’t make any sense.”