Oh my God, oh my god…you just have to buy this CD….like… now!
Where did I find out about Halloween, Alaska? A review in Uncut or Word? Someone’s blog? The credits on the OC? Oh God, I’ve got no idea. All I know is it arrived yesterday (had to be ordered from amazon.com), and I’m completely smitten with it. What a piece of utter electro-ambient loveliness.
They’re clearly already on Josh Schwartz’s iPod - as they’ve had a couple of tracks appear on the OC (unsurprisingly - on Amazon, people who bought this, also bought OC favourite Death Cab for Cutie’s Transatlanticism)…including the quite wonderful All The Arms Around You, which is a wonderful post-club anthem. It has one of those moments where after meandering along nicely for a couple of minutes, the drums kick in properly and your whole body goes ‘aaaaaaaaaahhhh’. There’s a re-mix version on the Album…but it could do with another slightly peppier one, just to be safe.
At one point, they do a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s State Trooper from Nebraska. Now, the original is a pared down acoustic grumble, that goes nowhere but is none the worse for it. Their version is like an early 80s electronic track (anyone remember Pink Industry?), that chugs and builds and builds…..ooooh, very nice indeed.
OK…as you can tell, I quite like it. I suggest you try it. If anyone knows a UK site you can buy it from…please say so.
Oh, and the Enhanced Cd version even has MP3s of instrumental versions of all the songs. A bargain.
Here’s their entry in Wikipedia; Some free MP3s of theirs and a few more on their official site.