Movement

Halloween, Alaska — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 22:57:00 +0000

Moving toward final mixes of the new record or playlist or songset or whichever collective noun works best in the current omniverse. Probably time to start updating here and reaching out more regularly. Look for things to ramp up through the spring and summer. Cheers to patient supporters and curious onlookers. More soon...

Too Tall to Hide

Halloween, Alaska — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:23:00 +0000

TRACK LISTING:
1. A New Stain
2. Drowned
3. The Light Bulb Does
4. I Can't Live Without My Radio
5. You and Me Both
6. Bad News Sticks
7. Forever
8. Receiving Line
9. Glide
[Click here to listen/buy at iTunes Music Store]

Self-titled

Halloween, Alaska — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:04:00 +0000

TRACK LISTING:
1. You're It
2. All the Arms Around You
3. Des Moines
4. Call It Clear
5. Halloween
6. The Four Corners
7. State Trooper
8. Telling Me
9. All the Arms Around You (VIC 20 Remix)
10. Telling Me (Acoustic Demo)
11. Warning Track (Varsity Mix)
[Click here to listen/buy at iTunes Music Store]

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Halloween, Alaska — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 22:59:00 +0000

Halloween, Alaska = James Diers (voice, guitar, keys) + Ev (keys, programming, engineering) + Matt Friesen (electric bass, samples) + Jake Hanson (guitar, keys) + David King (acoustic and electronic drums) We came together in Minneapolis sometime in the early '00s, having played together and separately in other bands such as Love-cars, 12RODS, The Bad Plus, Happy Apple, et al. We were a foursome until mid-2006, at which point Jake was cajoled into joining up. Our eponymous debut was originally released under the Princess Records imprint in 2004, then reissued by East Side Digital (indie home to synth pioneer Wendy Carlos, among others) in 2005 with the addition of a few bonus tracks. The second disc, "Too Tall to Hide," followed shortly thereafter, including an LL Cool J cover that is not intended to be the least bit ironic or clever. Work on a third full-length release is nearly complete. Watch for all the terrible details to emerge later in 2008.

What's been said

Halloween, Alaska — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 22:56:00 +0000

Below are excerpts from reviews of our first two discs. RE: the self-titled debut ...

"[FOUR STARS] ... Halloween, Alaska's emotive verve and electro-organic poise is so accomplished, you'd think you'd got your hands on The Blue Nile's mislaid comeback album. Melancholy stains every measured note, but HA reside slap-bang in the heart of America's Mid-west, and the atmosphere of low, distant horizons and isolation is palpable. James Diers can conjure up images to match his lovelorn burr (All the Arms Around You: "into some forgotten space [sic]/where the envy and the hate/swim around in figure-eights"), and a cover of Springsteen's State Trooper perfectly nails the bloodshot, restless mood." -- MOJO

"[FOUR STARS] ... carefully crafted atmosphere, with all extraneous nonsense removed to make room for the quiet, soulful vocals. The sounds -- whether gravelly bass riffs or lighter-than-air background washes -- are so carefully picked and programmed that you dwell on their texture in the same way that you'd run your finger over the grain in a piece of wood ... Mesmerising stuff." -- Sunday Times (UK)

" ... startlingly fresh ... electronic moods, muted tones and lush yet sparingly applied sonic textures." -- Amplifier

" ... lush, atmospheric pools of sound ... meticulously crafted songs, with plenty of atmosphere, but also with plenty of emotion to go right alongside it. ... full of drowsy synths, shimmering guitars, and tasteful programming that can be either dancey or skeletal." -- Opus

"Somehow this band was able to make an album with synths and loops and electronic drums as real and organic and warm as one of Bob Dylan's pre-electric albums. ... The atmosphere is so thick you can practically drink it." -- Sponic

"From its first track, the album drowns the ears in alien lullabies, though Diers's candid lyrics about living-room clutter make everyday things just as song-worthy as these strange soundscapes. ... King combines his traditional drum kit with electronic pads that sound just as they should: beautifully artificial." -- City Pages

"Shimmery keys and gleaming guitar washes are ideal for floating around in the pool as jet contrails scar the darkening summer sky. ...'Telling Me' and 'Call It Clear' radiate a misty, last-week-of-winter vibe, while the icy post-punk rendition of Springsteen's 'State Trooper' casts a chilly, unsettling shadow. Finally, the spring thaw has a house band." --Splendid

RE: Too Tall to Hide ...

"A lot of bands claim not to fit in any preexisting pop music genre, but few can back up these claims as convincingly as Minneapolis-based Halloween, Alaska. ... jittery-jungly and swooningly melodic ... sonically large and weirdly cathartic ... Highly recommended." --All Music Guide

"Having laid out a defining blend of lush electronica and spare, somber emo-rock on its debut, this time out the foursome explores the territory further -- it's soaring and introspective by turns. There's a penchant for offbeat pop-cultural references, too: Diers puns on Madonna titles in the line 'am I a lucky star, or am I like a prayer,' and reworks LL Cool J's aggressive 'I Can't Live Without My Radio' into a soft-voiced, heartfelt ballad. In other hands, that might have been a painful experiment, but here it's worked deftly into the overall sonic texture." -- The Onion AV Club

"...passionate and entrancing journeys with multi-layers, polyrhythm, and velvety smooth vocals ... easily a contender for the best electronic album of the year..." -- ARTISTdirect

"Like the first album's reinvention of Springsteen's 'State Trooper,' the standout track on the follow-up disc is a delicate and surprisingly soulful version of LL Cool J's 'I Can't Live Without My Radio.' Oh man, is that a keeper. But the eight original tunes are even stronger than before..." -- Star Tribune

" ... songs yo-yoing between hope and despair, blankets of sound and emptiness and electronic and analog ... the plea for security of 'The Light Bulb Does' gives way to the appropriated swagger of LL Cool J's 'I Can't Live Without My Radio.' If there's one must-hear track on the disc, it's 'Radio' ... it displays all the charms of this band: sentimentality tempered by a wink and masterful musicianship uncluttered by virtuoso-style wankery." -- Pulse

HALLOWEEN, ALASKA

Movement

Too Tall to Hide

Self-titled

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What's been said