Halloween, Alaska [Enhanced]

Amazon.com
This quartet came together from a handful of other bands in the Minneapolis area. Their eponymous debut was locally released in 2003, but continued and growing college radio play, combined with having a couple of the tracks ("All the Arms Around you" and "Des Moines") featured on the popular TV show The O.C., has brought forth this new, enhanced edition. The ethereal bearing of the eight songs reveal layers of textures and arrangement details, as the slowly paced rhythms expand to their appropriate lengths for more than an hour of music. James Diers' vocals have a lilting sonority that allows the melodies to float in and out of the the surrounding accompaniment, sometimes for the foreground lyrical components, other times as another color in their gorgeous tapestry. --David Greenberger
Halloween, Alaska,Alaska Halloween,East Side Digital,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop

Halloween, Alaska [Enhanced]

Average customer rating:

another brilliant album

Please enter a title for your review:

Still Waiting

BRILLIANT!

Too Tall to Hide
Alaska Halloween
Manufacturer: East Side Digital
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
General | Rock | Styles | Music
Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Halloween, Alaska

The Peace Between Our Companies

The Minor Passions

Youth Oriented

The Trials of Van Occupanther

ASIN: B000ARG2GE
Release Date: 2005-09-13

Tracks:

New Stain

Drowned

Light Bulb Does

I Can't Live Without My Radio

You and Me Both

Bad News Sticks

Forever

Receiving Line

Glide

Customer Reviews:

another brilliant album.......2006-05-10
someone below said he/she couldn't find a melody on the second halloween, alaska album. i suggest cleaning the wax out of the ears and giving it another listen.

giant steps aren't always necessary in band evolution. instead of ditching their signature sound, the four lads who make up halloween, alaska instead gradually build on their sparkling, self-titled debut. for all it's beauty, the debut album was often glacially slow. 'too tall,' however, opens with 'a new stain' and its pulsating, manic synthline. it's the first sign that 'too tall,' while similar to the debut, is a different animal.

the second track, 'drowned,' is the easy standout. the 2:30 mark of the song makes the whole purchase worthwhile. given that halloween, alaska's songs tend to focus on atmosphere, 'drowned' is like being ripped off a placid lake and dropped in the middle of sonic bliss. it's a wonderful moment. (and the reason 'drowned' is easily my favorite song of the year so far). h,a's cover of ll cool j's 'i can't live without my radio' is an interesting choice of song to cover, but as the band mentions on their website, they do it sincerely. generally it works. the other standout track is 'you and me both,' which incidentally evokes a very yazoo-ish opening keyboard line. it also displays some of the band's better lyrics ('ride the rims of what remains of me). one of their strengths is the wondeful lyrical imagery. according the 'bonus materials' on the disc, h,a has no principle songwriter. i don't know who's responsible for the lyrics, but this may be the only case where mutliple lyric writers in a band actually works.

the last few songs follow the same general pattern as the debut album, but that's by now means a knock on the songs nor the band.

hopefully h,a will get more and more deserved recognition. this kind of ethereal, visceral beauty demands more attention. do yourself a favor and get both this album and their debut.
Please enter a title for your review: .......2005-12-17
Despite their supposed OC buzz no one really seems to know who these guys are. It would be nice if Halloween Alaska got a little more attention and Death Cab For Cutie got a little less. This album is more diverse than their last one, seeming simultaneously retro and futuristic. Their synth tones are surprisingly unique, seemingly existing outside the influence of any modern indie-electro cliques. More Phil Collins than Postal Service. A New Stain is kinda experimental and never finds it's groove. Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty good track, but when Drowned starts it's like ok now the album's really getting started. The richly textured synth line floats along hinting at a subtle buried melody that pulses with the shimmery reverb. It reminds me a bit of Springsteen's Streets Of Philadelphia, or Donna Lewis' Nothing Ever Changes, except with a hard beat. Kinda adult contemporary, but just edgy enough to shake off any Enya comparisons, and more experimental and interesting than the likes of Coldplay or Death Cab. This is like new-age music with a punk mentality. It's like they've invented a completely new way of treading the path of cheese while lacing it with candy-coated barbed wire.
Still Waiting.......2005-12-09
I'd like to preface this with the fact that I really like their first cd. I've listened to this a number of times, and have yet been unable to walk away with a melody that I can hum or whistle. The music is both sparse and dense at the same time, and I get confused as to what I should be listening for. It's like watching Shakespeare, when all the characters are played by Ben Stein. I'd like to endorse it as good chill out music, but the lack of melody really causes for a boring listen. Stick with their first disc everyone, and pray they hit the mark next time.
BRILLIANT!.......2005-09-25
I have been a Halloween Alaska fan since the release of their first album. Almost two years later and me having played through 3 copies of their first record (yes, I know I need to take better care of my cds) their second installment is finally out and I can honestly say that it very easily tops the beauty of their first. The music jumps from a heart-breaking mellow feel to a rock-fist pumping orgasm of sound in a moments notice without ever feeling out of place. These 4 guys have produced yet another album that easily jumps into my top ten of all time. If you loved their first album then buy this cd! If you have never heard of Halloween Alaska... then buy this cd. Don't second guess the purchase... you won't regret it.

Average customer rating:

buried treasure (best experienced with headphones)...

Original fresh sound-Halloween Alaska

Beautiful

Great new sound

Searching for a Late Summer Thunderstorm

Halloween, Alaska
Alaska Halloween
Manufacturer: East Side Digital
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
General | Rock | Styles | Music
Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Too Tall to Hide

The Peace Between Our Companies

The Minor Passions

Takk...

The Trials of Van Occupanther

ASIN: B0008G2IGK
Release Date: 2005-04-26

Tracks:

You're It

All The Arms Around You

Des Moines

Call It Clear

Halloween

The Four Corners

State Trooper

Telling Me

All The Arms Around You (Vic 20 Remix)

Telling Me (Acoustic Demo)

Warning Track (Varsity Mix)

Amazon.com
This quartet came together from a handful of other bands in the Minneapolis area. Their eponymous debut was locally released in 2003, but continued and growing college radio play, combined with having a couple of the tracks ("All the Arms Around you" and "Des Moines") featured on the popular TV show The O.C., has brought forth this new, enhanced edition. The ethereal bearing of the eight songs reveal layers of textures and arrangement details, as the slowly paced rhythms expand to their appropriate lengths for more than an hour of music. James Diers' vocals have a lilting sonority that allows the melodies to float in and out of the the surrounding accompaniment, sometimes for the foreground lyrical components, other times as another color in their gorgeous tapestry. --David Greenberger
Customer Reviews:

buried treasure (best experienced with headphones)..........2006-03-25
how this has managed to fly beneath the radar for so long is astonishing.

'well hello, little hellion. make yourself at home.' so opens halloween, alaska's debut album, the postal service's older, more sophisticated (and interesting) brother. it's a compelling and ultimately emotionally endearing little piece of ear candy. comparison's the ben gibbard's side project are perhaps inevitable (and even understandable), but anyone wanting to compare the two (or cast off halloween, alaska prematurely) does him or herself a serious disservice.

what strikes the listener in the intimacy and immediacy. James Dier's vocals aren't the strongest, but they womp you over the head with the emotionaly integrity and vulnerability blatantly absent from the majority of vocalists these days. the melodies, while not immediately memorable, manage to linger in your head and when you find yourself humming the melody three or four days later, it'll sound familiar, but you might not be able to immediately place it. it's deceptive in a way. it's at once familiar and completely new original. this sort of beautiful and understated subtlety seems to be halloween, alaska's mantra, and thank heaven's for it. it's almost as if fellow mid-westerners, Low, turned electronic.

in short, beautiful, lush, engaging music you can listen to repeatedly without ever tiring of it. in a day of throw-away pop songs, it's not small feat. and you'd be well-served to listen to the album with headphones to pick up all the subtle nuances, bells, and whistles.

hopefully this is the beginning of a long and fruitful career.
Original fresh sound-Halloween Alaska.......2006-03-18
I had heard a sample clip of "all the arms around you" and found myself singing it all the time, often I only like one track from a particular artist but the offbeat asymetrical stylings kept me hooked, and it's now one of my favourite albums, a great buy!
Beautiful.......2006-03-08
Very elegant, moving and beautiful compositions from this Minnesota band. It's hard not to get wrapped up in the sparkling guitars, smooth synth washes and the ethereal voice. "The Four Corners" and "You're It" are the standouts. Dont' hesitate to hear this.
Great new sound.......2005-12-30
Halloween, Alaska's self-titled album is such a surprise. My 18 year old son turned me on to them and I am impressed. If you can imagine the best of Sting updated to 2005 you sort of have it. Great new sound and ingeneous engineering. Relaxing, well written and playable at all times. Give it a try.
Searching for a Late Summer Thunderstorm.......2005-05-13
Everyone keeps trying to steal my Halloween, Alaska CD. This is the best band to come around after centuries of bad luck and is quickly becoming an underground favorite. From the building, captivating, frantic reaches of "All the Arms Around You" to the super mellow "Halloween" this is a CD you want to put on repeat while you pull your lover under the blankets. It's poignant, and plaintive, and sad, and hopeful. The track "Halloween" invokes that electric, expectant feeling of right before a late summer thundershower in the Midwest, when the air is thick and wet and lightening bugs are flickering around, and James Diers hauntingly sings "Here I'll make my home, again and again... again and again..."

In "Four Corners" he whispers, "I've found the one to keep" in such a bittersweet way, it makes you wonder what happened to make his declaration so nostalgic. Is he singing about the same person he called his "delicate slip of sunshine" from the slightly less nostalgic "Call it Clear"? ("Why do you think we're here? Is that why they call it clear?")

Here's to Halloween, Alaska's success. My iTunes will play this CD again and again, as I sit on our back porch with my husband and kittens and watch the fireflies flickering in the apple orchard, waiting for the approaching thunderstorm to let loose with its torrential downpour.

Average customer rating:

Sitting strong after 5 months...

quintissential post-2000 indie rock

if you love good music and you want to chill/rock say yeah!

Good mellow album : quick words.

Halloween, Alaska
Alaska Halloween
Manufacturer: Princess
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B0001KOWO4

Tracks:

You're It

All the Arms Around You

Des Moines

Call It Clear

Halloween

The Four Corners

State Trooper

Telling Me

Product Description
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
Customer Reviews:

Sitting strong after 5 months..........2004-12-14
I was given a copy of this cd just a week before Halloween Alaska played at the club I am a sound engineer at. Since my very first listen of this album, 5 months ago, it still remains my favorite album of all time. Many cd's come and go out of regular rotation in my cd player(s) but this album has never lost it's appeal to me. It is beautiful in more ways that I can comment on. I can only imagine what the next album will do to me.
quintissential post-2000 indie rock.......2004-11-06
If you like the Postal Service or similar bands, you'll like this. Top notch structure, very catchy (All the Arms around You rivals the Shins for pure hummability), with the sort of laid back vocals that are impossible not to like if all you want is something to chill back to.

This seems short, but there's not that much to be said. All the songs are solid, they vary in speed but none are ultra slow or ultra fast. Great music to serve as background to any laid back activity.
if you love good music and you want to chill/rock say yeah!.......2004-08-09
why this album isn't available on this online marketplace is beyond me, lets be honest, this album is incredible. if you're a fan of love cars, or dave king or anything resembling good tunage, than this is the album for you.
Good mellow album : quick words........2004-03-05
Good stuff. I like track 5, Halloween. Reminds me of American Music Club/Postal Service. Apologies for the review brevity. I just know I liked this album.
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