Halloween, Alaska - Too Tall To Hide
ARTIST.....: Halloween, Alaska
TITLE......: Too Tall To Hide
LABEL......: East Side Digital
URL........: www.halloweenalaska.com
RIP DATE...: Sep-08-2005
STORE DATE.: Sep-13-2005
GENRE......: Electronic
QUALITY....: VBR / 44.1Hz / Joint-Stereo
SIZE.......: 50,6 MB
Track Listing:
01 - A New Stain 03:42
02 - Drowned 04:24
03 - The Light Bulb Does 05:28
04 - I Can't Live Without My Radio 03:19
05 - You And Me Both 03:39
06 - Bad News Sticks 03:47
07 - Forever 05:41
08 - Receiving Line 07:23
09 - Glide 03:59
─────
41:22 min
Release Notes:
www.e-s-d.com
HALLOWEEN, ALASKA first appeared in Minneapolis in 2002, quickly
picked by Twin Cities clubgoers as a unique and compelling new
attraction. Over the subsequent year, the group squeezed
scattershot recording sessions into their busy creative lives
(members can also be seen/heard in The Bad Plus, Happy Apple,
Love-cars, et al). They quietly released a self-titled disc via
the local Princess Records imprint in early 2004, featuring seven
original songs and an eerily tweaked cover of Bruce Springsteen's
"State Trooper." The disc rode a surprising wave of word-of-mouth
and college radio buzz to become a chart favorite at CMJ and on
non-commercial and Internet radio stations across the country. The
band and the album enjoyed an extra boost when its songs "All the
Arms Around You" and "Des Moines" were featured in the first two
seasons of the Fox TV series "The O.C.". In 2005, the debut disc
was reissued on East Side Digital with the addition of a few bonus
tracks. HALLOWEEN, ALASKA's second album, entitled "Too Tall to
Hide," continues in the same moody, spellbinding vein,
occasionally pushing its mix of organic and electronic elements to
more restless extremes. Among the new tracks is a heartfelt
quasi-cover of "I Can't Live Without My Radio," LL Cool J's
classic ode to the almighty boombox. Enhanced-CD content on the
new disc includes instrumental MP3 versions of every track, plus a
QuickTime home movie created during the album recording session.
The band will be playing select live dates to promote "Too Tall to
Hide," which releases in the US on September 13 and in the UK on
October 31. (myspace.com/halloweenalaska)
The second release from this Twin Cities-based quartet maintains
the lush atmosphere of their well-received debut, but also reveals
sharper edges and more passionate outbursts. This time around, the
groups moody ambient pop comes with a side-order of electroshock
therapy.
Vocalist James Diers' soothing melodies continue to belie the dark
and sometimes disturbing lyrical threads; eerie, espansive bass
lines by Matt Friesen are simultaneously inviting and unsettling;
drummer David King (The Bad Plus, Happy Apple) directs his
near-nuclear rhythmic energy into impossible fills and playful
acoustic/electronic counterpoint; and all the while keyboardist
and sound architect Ev provides the glue, building an evocative
palette of sounds and laptop manipulations.
Too Tall to Hide further establishes the eclectic, sensuous sound
that is Halloween, Alaska. It's restless, seductive, a little
scary, and well worth the attention. In fact, play that again,
would you?