I have a confession to make. Though my music tastes range all over the place, my real musical love is heavy, loud, guitar laden, and somewhat bluesy rock. I am not by any definition an electronic/environmental/atmoshperic type music guy, but I appreciate the artistry and effort involved in the creation of the music.

That being said I have to say that I love Halloween, Alaska's self titled CD. This CD is lush, rich, and very emotional. About twenty seconds into the first tune, "You're It", my mind's eye started to be filled with waves of colors and visuals. The music also had a sort of transforming effect on my mood, putting me in state of relaxed consciousness.

Musically the tunes come alive with emotion. This is due, in no small part, to the absolutely perfect audio mix and production. The engineers really played into the ebbs and flows of the music. The musical construction can be described as minimalist, allowing for notes and cords to hang just long enough to make the intended point, but never to the point of being over bearing. In our interview with James Diers (vocal and guitar), he used the term "patient" to describe the music of Halloween, Alaska, a word that really does fit the feel of the entire CD.

Instrumentation on the CD is very skilled as well. Mr. Diers does an amazing job on vocals, filling each song with angst, pain, or hope (sometimes all in the same song). On the drums is, David King (he is also a member of the Jazz/Rock/Fusion/Jam trio “The Bad Plus” - an amazing band in it's own right - I highly recommend them), who supplies beats that never seem to overpower, but at the same time are never understated. This is no small feat, as drums in this type of music seem to always be the trickiest: too much and it goes from emotional to dance, too little and it is simply boring. Matt Friesen plays bass and, just like David, never draws attention to himself, yet his contribution can not be ignored as he fully integrates his music into each tune. EV plays keyboards and "powerbook" (programming) drawing the most out of each sustained cord and providing most of the emotional shifts to the music.

There was little that I did not like about this CD, outside of my general non-interest in this genre of music, a viewpoint I am now going to re-evaluate. My favorite tunes include "Call It Clear" and "All The Arms Around You" (both appear in our audio interview). If I have one criticism, it is that some of the tunes drag a bit ("Des Moines" and "Halloween" come to mind). The music is solid, but it seems to me that the changes that occur during those tunes take some time to transition. This may seem a bit picky, and, well, it is.

Overall, I recommend this CD to anyone wanting to hear excellent audio craftsmanship, emotion evoking music, or just wanting to chill.

You can purchase Halloween, Alaska at: Amazon or from EastSide

Download Audio Interview With Halloween, Alaska

Click Here To Listen Now!

Welcome to the D-Zone! Show #1 - Babble-On

• Welcome
• 2 Shows and Amazing Technology
• Tracy Jane Comer - "Unknown Song" - Madison, WI
  
• A Not So Brief History
• Jamie - "Unknown Song" - London, UK
• Where am I with the Tech?
• The Worderer - "Genuine Art" - Brooklyn, NY
  
• Closing