‘well hello, little hellion. make yourself at home.’ so opens halloween, alaska’s debut album, the postal service’s older, more sophisticated (and interesting) brother. it’s a compelling and ultimately emotionally endearing little piece of ear candy. comparison’s the ben gibbard’s side project are perhaps inevitable (and even understandable), but anyone wanting to compare the two (or cast off halloween, alaska prematurely) does him or herself a serious disservice.

what strikes the listener in the intimacy and immediacy. James Dier’s vocals aren’t the strongest, but they womp you over the head with the emotionaly integrity and vulnerability blatantly absent from the majority of vocalists these days. the melodies, while not immediately memorable, manage to linger in your head and when you find yourself humming the melody three or four days later, it’ll sound familiar, but you might not be able to immediately place it. it’s deceptive in a way. it’s at once familiar and completely new original. this sort of beautiful and understated subtlety seems to be halloween, alaska’s mantra, and thank heaven’s for it. it’s almost as if fellow mid-westerners, Low, turned electronic.

in short, beautiful, lush, engaging music you can listen to repeatedly without ever tiring of it. in a day of throw-away pop songs, it’s not small feat. and you’d be well-served to listen to the album with headphones to pick up all the subtle nuances, bells, and whistles.

hopefully this is the beginning of a long and fruitful career.

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