There are good albums. There are great albums. Then there are the very special albums that change your perception, and never fail to take you to that blissful, enchanting place in your brain that only they hold the key to. My life as I knew it took an unexpected musical journey into untapped areas I never knew existed only nine years ago in 1998, when I was a Junior in highschool. I went to our local record store to replace my copy of the Hum album "you'd prefer an astronaut," due to one of my friends borrowing it and scratching the life out of it. When I found that the record store was out of copies, I was bummed, but I noticed that they had a new Hum album I had never heard of called "downward is heavenward" so I picked it up. This would turn out to be one of the best if not THE best musical purchase I ever made. When I got home I put in the album, put on my headphones, and layed on the floor in my room and listened. I was immediately pulled in by the atmospheric sounds of the intro to the first song. It sounded like a warehouse full of thousands of different guitars and a huge drumset. As the warm melodies coming from Matt Talbotts vocal chords slowly floated into my ears, and weaved in and out in-between waves of soraing guitar riffs, everything in the universe seemed to line up perfectly. Looking back you would think I ate some great acid right before I listened to the record! That is part of the beauty of it, I was completely sober. That is just how amazing this record is. If there was a perfect balance between light and dark, or powerful yet subtle, Hum achieved it with this record. The lyrics paint the most amazing pictures as they swirl around all of the massive, warm, and melodic sounds of the guitars. If you've never heard this album, you are missing out. It's a perfect example of the beauty of contrasting one extreme to the other. I posted my favorite track. Enjoy!