Halloween, Alaska – All Night The Calls Came In

I’m not sure what the hell it all means but then I’m not sure if I should?

http://www.halloweenalaska.com/

There’s something incredibly Peter Gabriel about this, but don’t let that put you off. The album lives in a sonic space that weaves as much love for the kind of cold, synth led pop of the Human League with the endless guitar drones of the Cocteau Twins and somehow, with a voice that drifts occasionally into Sting territory, it manages to hold itself together without seeming too arty or full of itself. I’m not quite sure how they manage it to be honest but, like much of Gabriel’s work I feel mightily impressed with it without ever truly understanding it.

Analogue pays testament to that. It begins as a fairly standard, tub thumping rock track but then it breaks down in the middle in order for them to mess around with what sounds like a worn out cassette tape and some daft vocal lines before building up the kind of wall of white noise even My Bloody Valentine would have to put their ear plugs in for. I’m not sure what the hell it all means but then I’m not sure if I should? It’s just entertaining. Then you’re thrown completely for a loop with Empire Waist which is so charmingly poppy you expect Ben Folds to make a guest appearance at any moment. Sadly, he doesn’t, but you do get some handclaps.

The album stop/starts its way through, stumbling from one thing into another like an Incendiary editor on the way home from a bar and by the time it finishes you feel like you’ve just spent an hour very pleasantly channel hopping from one soap opera into another. It’s clear that Halloween, Alaska take themselves seriously. At times, you may not be able to take them seriously, it must be said, but you won’t mind. In fact, you may well find yourself having a good time with them.

In fact, just hit shuffle when you press play and this album could feel entirely different every time. However you listen to it, it’ll still be a lot of fun, and, let’sface it, isn’t that what matters really?