Halloween, Alaska

If the Twin Cities has a "sound" now, it's Halloween, Alaska, an electronic pop band that mines the 80s sound for all the gold it never had.

Halloween, Alaska contains three of the Twin Cities' more influential musicians of late: Ev, James Diers and the omni-present David King. Ev (12 Rods) PowerBooks a digitized soundscape the others could zip across on a Tron-cycle. The dot matrix is pounded and playfully teased by drummer David King (The Bad Plus, Happy Apple) with wide bass marks left by Matt Friesen (who also contributes the other-worldly cover art). All is bathed in the soothing timbre of James Diers' (Love-Cars) darkly poetic lyrics. When combined it sounds like the future of music. Hal, Al delivers us The Postal Service for adults. It's more emotionally heartfelt and humanized than most electronica.

Hal, Al's stellar S/T predecessor lulled us into submission softly. Too Tall To Hide showcases their more upbeat side. This time we pick up the action quickly with the darting and driving "A New Stain". It's followed by the equally rousing "Drowned" which allows some breathing room as it fills the air. "I Can't Live Without My Radio" is a perfect example of how to do a cover (like their Springsteen's "State Trooper"): Take an imperfect original and make it your own, almost unrecognizably. It's alluring how the same lyrics can have such a different implication with their atmospheric delivery. The playful "Forever" longingly evokes a summer night beach fire. The songs here are passionate and entrancing journeys with multi-layers, polyrhythm, and velvety smooth vocals. "Receiving Line" is a tidal wave finish, an epic which would not be inappropriate to yell, "Thank you. Good night!" after and leave the stage. It's easily a contender for the best electronic album of the year, or better yet, electronica blanket.

Soon enough Hal,Al will be too tall too hide. They lure you in, lull you into submission and then pull the rug out from under you. To quote Diers "What's another word for 'hallelujah'?" - Jeff Kamin

A lot of bands claim not to fit any preexisting pop music genre, but few can back up such claims as convincingly as Minneapolis-based Halloween, Alaska, whose second album could be filed with equal inaccuracy in the pop, electronica, avant-garde, rock, and glitchcore categories. This is an album that opens with the jittery-jungly and swooningly melodic "A New Stain" before swelling to the sonically large and weirdly cathartic "Drowned" and then lapsing into the strangely pretty but melodically dry, lyrically whimsical and sonically spare "The Light Bulb Does." Then comes the biggest curveball of all: a contemplative deconstruction of LL Cool J's "I Can't Live Without My Radio," an interesting gamble that doesn't quite pay off -- where other songs on this album come across as self-effacingly quirky, this one seems self-consciously clever. But the heavily compressed drums and '80s-refugee synthesizer on "Receiving Line" make it easy to forgive that misstep, as does the creepy-but-cool "Forever". (Instrumental versions, a Quicktime video and song lyrics are included on a bonus CD-ROM track.) Highly recommended. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide