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From Bubblegum To Sky is a lovely new project from Mario Hernandez, the San Antonio native who formerly made wondrous sounds as Ciao Bella. With musical support from longtime friend Jamie McCormick, Me and Amy And The Two French Boys offers some of the best pop music likely to be made this year. "Hello Hello Hi", among the highlights on March's Moshi Moshi sampler, gets things going in a sparse but swinging fashion. It stands apart from other indiepop songs because hipness and style just seem to flow from Mario; nothing is forced in Mario's world of songs, and no la-la choruses appear to be calculated moves. They exist in his music just because his reality seems to demand them, which certainly makes his life look beautiful and enviable.
Following the delicious, timeless greeting that is the opening track, listeners are treated to "Shaboom They Said". For me, it is successful in a way that I always hoped the Apples In Stereo would be; while matching the Apples in capturing the mid-to-late Beatles' sound, From Bubblegum To Sky makes their song ooze with the happiness that one hopes the band experienced while performing it. I guess this comes from Mario's work being less controlled and more immediate; his songs are certainly aided by the production, which takes pleasure in its messiness.
If you are not into bands that redo the sixties and early seventies, then the middle of Me and Amy... might disappoint. I think it's quite fetching, though, with "She Floats" a slowed-down "OB-La-Di, OB-La-Da", and "Major J" an upbeat cross between the Who and Mott the Hoople injected with Mr Twee.
While "Don't Let The Day Go Mistreating You" is dismissable, the other ten songs are not. Me And Amy And The Two French Boys succeeds in capturing all the joy Mario's brain must have had, processing the last thirty years of pop. "My Thousand Years With Robots" and "Beat To Beat", a unique remix of "Hello Hello Hi", help close the album on such a pleasant, modernistic note that I am led to further rank Mario among the high leaders in the indiepop underground. Among those who make smiley songs, few do so with more sincerity or sass.
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