Halloween, Alaska
Artist Description
If Halloween, Alaska's self-titled 2004 debut was a critically anointed indie gem — scoring wider notoriety via TV's dearly departed The O.C. — and 2005's Too Tall to Hide was hailed as a "jittery jungly and swooningly melodic" (All Music Guide) follow-up, then the new Champagne Downtown is both a worthy successor and a wicked evolution. Mixed by Grammy-winning engineer and audio guru Tchad Blake (Tom Waits, Peter Gabriel, Elvis Costello, Pearl Jam), it's a gorgeously layered showcase of the band's half-electronic-half-organic palette. Real drums mingle freely with their mechanical counterparts. Warm synths tangle with edgy, textured guitars. Brainy lyricism unfolds in a tandem of winsome melody and unabashed rock hooks. Peeking beneath and between these layers only serves to recall everything that's unique about this Minneapolis-based quartet, comprised of Diers (voice, keys, guitar), Matthew Friesen (bass, sampler), Jacob Hanson (guitar) and David King (drums)—the latter also known as the enigmatic drummer for modernist jazz trio The Bad Plus.
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