Once upon a time, Eric Elbogen was Brooklyn indietronic artist Say Hi To Your Mom, singing about robots and vampires. Then he moved to Seattle, dropped the “To Your Mom,” and started making songs about regular subjects like love (and occasionally vampires). Then his project faded away, officially retired in 2017 as life got in the way. But only a year later, after a very successful Kickstarter campaign for vinyl releases of his old material, Elbogen revived Say Hi for the very welcome return Caterpillar Centipede.
Elbogen’s Say Hi work has always rested on his personal emotional appeal, and that very much keeps up with Caterpillar, as is indietronic sensibilities. There’s the lovelorn Elbogen in opener “Don’t Go Like That, No”, the engaging individualism of “Green With Envy”, vintage Say Hi with “Neon Signs”, and stripped-synth anthem “Dreaming the Day Away”.
Caterpillar Centipede was introduced as a final Say Hi album, but Say Hi itself had been closed out, so take its latest ending with a grain of salt. Instead, enjoy the return of a great indie voice.
