The Hush Sound

The Hush Sound came together in late 2004 when pianist-singer Greta Salpeter and guitarist-singer Bob Morris, who met as kids, started writing songs in Chicago. The duo became a quartet with the addition of bassist Chris Faller and drummer Darren Wilson, both of whom also sing. By early 2005 they were recording their first album without having ever played a show together. Fittingly, the album was titled So Sudden, but things were about to start moving even more quickly. One of the guys in Panic at the Disco heard the band online and emailed the ubiquitous Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy, who quickly signed them to his Decaydance record label, an imprint of phenomenally successful Fueled By Ramen Records.

The Hush Sound quickly acquired a following with their irresistible, tuneful songs, most of which are set to a bouncy, piano-driven rhythm. It’s a fun sound, kind of old-timey in spite of the big, distorted guitars and the state-of-the-art, radio-friendly production.

Even if you’re a bit put off by the Hush Sound’s story — which, frankly, sounds like something made up by an aging record executive eager to hook young users of this “MySpace” thing he keeps hearing about — the songs stand on their own. And the songs are smarter than you might think. On “Honey,” from the band’s third album Goodbye Blues, Salpeter sings, “Honey, honey, honey” so sweetly that you almost don’t notice that she’s singing about an abusive lover.

If all those bouncy piano rhythms are still too cute for you, well, to paraphrase another Fueled By Ramen artist, cute is what they aim for.

THE HUSH SOUND, Soma, Wednesday, August 6, 6:30 p.m. 619-226-7662. $12.