| Try Not to Laugh | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Graham Hunt |
| Cover: | Graham Hunt - Try Not to Laugh.png |
| Genre: | Power pop |
| Length: | 28:55 |
| Label: | Smoking Room |
| Prev Title: | If You Knew Would You Believe It |
| Prev Year: | 2022 |
Try Not to Laugh is the fourth studio album by American musician Graham Hunt. It was released on December 15, 2023, through Smoking Room, and arrives only a year after his third studio album If You Knew Would You Believe It (2022).
Between 2015 and 2023, a time spanning eight years, Hunt released six EPs and nine studio albums across six different projects. He also remained prolific contributing to other bands through production or live performances.[1] On August 3, 2023, Hunt released the lead single "Emergency Contact", a "summery power pop jolt" with "knockout hooks, squiggly guitar solo and toy percussion". The second single of the album "Tashmere Anthill" was released on November 6. The song features a "structured looseness" comparable to the works of early Beck, including a "rubbery and melodic" bass line and a prominent "acoustic breakdown halfway in".[2] On December 11, Hunt released the eponymous third single, a song that was described as "appealing '90s-style indie rock"[3] where "big classic rock guitars" meets "occasional brass and strings".[4]
Lizzie Manno of Stereogum chose Try Not to Laugh as their "album of the week", revering Hunt a pioneer in contemporary "independent power pop". Hunt takes the listener on a "smart and unexpected" ride through "decades of guitar pop" without drifting off into "cloying melodies or stale lyricism". Manno opines that Hunt further proves to be a "clever writer" on the album, assembling "pleasant pop melodies" with a "a literary eye" and "late-capitalist cynicism".[5]
The staff of the Sleeping Village in Chicago thought that Try Not to Laugh was a record that showcases "breakbeats" combined with "anthemic choruses" and "synth runs go toe-to-toe with acoustic guitars" and songwriting that gets to the heart of "Midwestern guitar pop". Hunt managed to create a record that sees the songs stay "at the forefront".[6]