Kevin Bronson on January 21st, 2011

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There might be a long story to be written that involves lawyers, managers, musicians and label reps spitting venom at each other, but the bottom line is this: Hellogoodbye is back, four-plus years after its debut album “Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!” was released. When they emerged in the middle of last decade, the Huntington Beach band was one of the most talented – not to mention goofy-fun – acts playing to teen-oriented (i.e., Warped Tour) crowds. They were the kind of guys who were pictured in gym shorts/swim trunks more often not, but beyond their silly exterior, Hellogoodbye made undeniable songs with big hooks and choruses. Their debut record sold half a million copies. Since then, the lineup has changed around principal songwriter Forrest Kline, and the band parted ways with Drive-Thru Records. Their new album “Would It Kill You?” (released in November) is a DIY affair; understandably, it’s more mature than the debut, though no less exuberant. Think Say Anything, without the angst.

||| Download: “When We First Met” [audio:http://www.mediafire.com/file/jwhw6d5tkpqwk75/Hellogoodbye%20-When%20We%20First%20Met.mp3]

||| Live: Hellogoodbye plays Saturday at the Troubadour.