2000 - 2005

“I Love My Canoe” is a microcosm of Penturbia : between the album’s charming lyrics and catchy progressions, its energized performances and occasionally melancholy themes, it begs listeners to find solace in themselves.

Troubled Hubble employs a few blunt, Midwestern influences. Most notably, the vocals are a right-on imitation of Doug Martsch’s intimate croon and the angular yet poppy guitars fall somewhere between There’s Nothing Wrong With Love and Perfect From Now On. Nonetheless, Penturbia is not as homogenous as the former, nor as heavy as the latter; it’s perfectly capable of carving its own niche in your heart. This is an album that makes you happy when you’re sad, but not by applying excess sunshine.

When the album tackles serious issues, it thrives on child-like wonderment rather than debilitating teenage angst. “Migraine” is an aggressively shimmering number in which the narrator sees his mom suffering, while “Nancy” is a bouncy piece of pop about a neighboring family that seems fine on the outside yet soon falls apart. Both are addressed from an innocent standpoint, with simple yet potent observations that reveal a truth beyond the naive narrator’s understanding.

Even more abstract numbers retain that youthful innocence and energy. “You Stay Here I’ll Go Get Help” spouts a bunch of cleverly tangled lyrics, concluding that “It’s one big world; one small me.” “Albatross”’s chorus makes a similar observation: “When will I surely come to terms with / the only constant thing in life is change.”

This makes “Paper/Stone”’s somber mood all the more innocent and precious. It’s beautifully sequenced, following “Secret”, which is about the exciting joys that overpower insecurities when you’re falling in love. After opening with a glistening Death Cab for Cutie-style melody that weaves through lyrics of heartbreak and lonely nights, “Paper/Stone” eventually explodes with sparkling melodies, heavier guitars and a violin. Although it’s probably the disc’s most self-indulgent song, it fits well with Troubled Hubble’s style, as if to document “Migraine” and “Nancy”’s innocent bystander’s first love, and first loss.

This is Troubled Hubble’s fourth album, and while I’m not familiar with the other three, Penturbia comes as close to perfection of this particular style of youthful pop-rock as I’ve heard. As personal as Built to Spill and as much fun as Ben Folds Five, it pulls all the right strings.”

- Splendid review of Penturbia

Chris Otepka - vocals, guitar
Josh Miller - guitar, vocals
Andrew Lanthrum - bass
Nate Lanthrum - drums