Hallelujah The Hills

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• Here we are where we thought we began

  Posted on 7/10/2008 by Ryan

  2nd album recording commences this weekend. You know the old story: we'll slave over expertly recording the new songs on rich, analog tape only to wait to hear it quickly dismissed 6 months later by kids in America who listen to half a song on their iPhone.

  Don't get upset at me, I know there's a lot of you who want to hear it. It's just so hot that it's terribly easy to drift into pessimistic humor. Pull me back! We're very lucky. I've never recorded an album knowing it will come out on a great label (Misra Records) and so I don't have to worry about what will happen to it once we're finished. We'll craft it, they'll catapult it, and we hope you'll listen.

  The songs are related, the album is about something...just not sure exactly what yet. I might leave the deciphering job up to Patrick Stickles.

  Happy Summer friends. Buy popsicles, not gas.

• Are You Preparified?

  Posted on 4/8/2008 by Ryan

  Today we are proud to unveil the Prepare To Qualify EP for free download for all who wish to hear it. You may have heard some of these songs before when they first trickled out online but we strongly suggest you trash those MP3's and grab this today. Since then we've had them properly mastered by Jeff Lipton over at Peerless Mastering, added two never-before-heard tracks, and lovingly sequenced it into this pocket-sized challenger. We'll have hard copies for sale at shows and via Misra's mail order page (though that won't be ready until sometime next week). Please enjoy it as we spend the summer playing some shows and recording album #2.

  Oh yeah, and like everyone who breathes air and uses the Internet we hopped on board the newest fad-train and made a muxtape for your enjoyment.

• I'm The One To Disintegrate Into Your Dreamscape

  Posted on 2/28/2008 by Brian

  Two new songs! Both recorded in a real studio! “Nurses 5 Float Past” on Stereogum! “Don't Take The Law Into Your Own Hands But Take Mine In Yours” on The Boston Phoenix! Enjoy!

• I Am Writing This Under Duress, All Of My Lies Will Be Presented As Truths

  Posted on 2/18/2008 by Ryan

  Dear Country, we are touring inside of you for most of March. Please let us seamlessly graft ourselves to your innards in each city. Thank you country.

  The Unifying Monsters Tour will shake your feet directly down into the silt forever and always. We mean that in the best possible way. SXSW, Daytrotter, shows with Evangelicals, and a plethora of other highlights: Come see it! TOUR DATES!

  Thanks to everyone who watched us perform Collective Psychosis Begone in its entirety last month at The Middle East Upstairs. It was one of our favorite nights of playing music (like, ever). It's been summed up quite nicely here and here (scroll down); for maximum effect, read those slowly or repeatedly while listening to the recording of the set.

• Do I have to come right flat out and tell you everything?

  Posted on 11/3/2007 by Brian

  We've been back from tour for two weeks, and that's how long it seems to take before we've entirely acclimated to real life. In place of a tour summary or photo-journal, Ryan has put together an audio collage of actual sounds heard during our trek. If you must feed your hungry eyes, you can head over to Flickr to see not one, but two photo sets of our CMJ show. Ten days is really too short a time to be traveling amongst the all fascinating cities and clubs and bands and people in this country. Discussions are already underway for a spring adventure.

• Slow Dance Party Vs. Trashing The Abandoned Warehouse

  Posted on 10/8/2007 by Ryan

  Good morning friends. We're busy. It's fall and we're touring. We're about to meet all of our label mates at CMJ. We're also releasing some new songs and a live solo set from last month. Then, when all this has passed, it's time to start thinking about recording full length album #2. Lastly, any suggestions for which song on Collective Psychosis Begone we should make a video for? Let us know! It may happen! When you set your clocks back next week please live that one hour as if it's two and let us know how that feels.

• You can't bring it in, and it can't go out

  Posted on 8/26/2007 by Ryan

  We're approaching Fall which is the season that Hallelujah The Hills thrives best within. You can expect far less sloth-like behavior from us as soon as those leaves start dying. Hell, we may even get a new song online for you all. Here's what's happening now though: the Boston Globe has an article about the band. Crawdaddy Magazine put out one too. And SoundCheck reviewed the album.

  We're definitely touring in October. A small one but I think we'll make it down to Georgia finally. At the end of the tour we'll play the Misra/Absolutely Kosher CMJ Showcase in NYC. Details forthcoming. Hope to see you soon. Oh, also, we had a band meeting recently. Here are the video highlights.

  Finally, we have a belated Christmas-In-July gift for you. At the end of our tour in June, we stopped by UMass Amherst to record a few songs for WMUA. Those folks were kind enough to send the session our way, so now everyone can listen to stripped-down renditions of our fight song and Sleeper Agent.

• Thought broadcasting the tour shakedown

  Posted on 7/17/2007 by Brian

  It took a little while to put together, but Ryan has written a tour summary (with photos!) on our MySpace blog. Thanks to all the wonderful, enthusiastic people we met along the way. We can't wait to do it again!

• The song sings the singer back home

  Posted on 6/30/2007 by Brian

  We only have a few days left on our tour, and for our first time out, it's been going exceedingly well. The crowds haven't been gigantic, but they have been exuberant, with a healthy dose of old friends that were kind enough to put us up for a night. We've played with some great bands like Ford & Fitzroy, our labelmates Southeast Engine, Southerly, White, Wrench, Conservatory, Titus Andronicus, and Machine Go Boom. The folks at The Rudyard Kipling in Louisville, Canal Street Tavern in Dayton, and The Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis were very kind to us. We even had the honor of having Thax Douglas read a poem before our set at The Note in Chicago. In short, there has been no lack of awesome things to make this tour a success. We'll have more to say after we've slept in our own beds, along with a bunch of photos.

• Release day +1

  Posted on 6/6/2007 by Brian

  The album has been out in the world for a day now, and the good vibes are flowing all around. We would be remiss if we didn't scream a gigantic "Thank You!" to everyone that has been a part of this. We feel so fortunate that there are so many people that have shared our enthusiasm for this music, going all the way back to first show. The idea that this is only the beginning is incredibly exciting.

  We've got a whole batch of stuff for you to read. First, our new friend Jami Attenberg did an interview with Ryan that can be read on Largehearted Boy. Our old friend Steve Gisselbrecht did an interview with the band that's in this month's issue of The Noise, and can be read here. Finally, there are album reviews from The Northeast Performer, The Onion AV Club,Prefix Magazine, and Boston's Weekly Dig.

  If you're into all of that, check back here periodically over the next couple weeks, because you can be assured that we'll be giddily posting all the kind words that people write about us.

• TOUR! Tour tour tourtourtourtourtour TOOOOUUURRRR!!!!

  Posted on 5/22/2007 by Brian

  Yeah, we pretty much can't wait to embark on our first tour. It has come together better than we could have hoped for, and many thanks go out to all the people that helped us put it together.More details can be found on the shows page, but here's the rundown:

  • June 18 - New York, NY @ The Annex
  • June 19 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Khyber
  • June 20 - Baltimore, MD @ Current Gallery
  • June 22 - Louisville, KY @ The Rudyard Kipling
  • June 23 - Dayton, OH @ Canal Street Tavern
  • June 24 - Dekalb, IL @ Otto's
  • June 25 - Chicago, IL @ The Note
  • June 26 - Milwaukee, WI @ Points East Pub
  • June 27 - Minneapolis, MI @ The Triple Rock Social Club
  • June 28 - Chicago, IL @ South Union Arts
  • June 29 - Cleveland, OH @ Parish Hall
  • June 30 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Bloomfield Bridge Tavern
  • July 1 - Albany, NY @ Valentine's
  • July 2 - Northampton, MA @ Eagles Nest

  In other news, Paper Thin Walls has a nice review of our fight song, accompanied by a short interview with Ryan about its genesis.

• There's so much to see and do

  Posted on 5/8/2007 by Brian

  Less than a month until the album comes out! It's all very exciting, so exciting that we've made the album lyrics available on this very website. That, and we take sadistic pleasure in squashing the simple joy that comes from deciphering a songwriter's nearly-incoherent ramblings.

  Other new website goodies include the merchandise page, featuring our snazzy new t-shirts. There's also a few new photos of the band, taken by our good buddy Jeff Galusha. Stay tuned for the tour dates; we've got just one or two more holes to fill in the schedule. But if you live in Dekalb, IL, you won't be disappointed.

  Out on the World Wide Web, people continue to say awfully nice things about us. Misra Records has acknowledged that we are part of the family, and you can pre-order the album from them, if you like. Also check out Berkeley Place, Shots Ring Out, and songs:illinois(don't be afraid to scroll or search on those last two).

• You know your friend in Detroit that you haven't talked to in awhile? The one who always seemed to be in three bands? We'd like to talk to him.

  Posted on 4/8/2007 by Brian

  Okay, there's a lot of ground to cover. First, we've found ourselves in yet another music competition; this time it's the Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll. We're up for for “Best New Band”, and our practice-space mates in Ho-Ag are up for “Best Punk Act”. You can vote, if you want to.

  Next up: you may know that our debut album, Collective Psychosis Begone, will be released by Misra Records. But did you know that it will be released on June 5th? And if you live near Boston, June 16th is another important date; that's when Ho-Ag, Ketman, and Keys To The Streets Of Fear will join us for our CD release show at Great Scott.

  Finally, the big news. Starting June 18th and continuing through July 1st, we'll be traveling through the eastern United States on our first tour! We are feverishly booking dates already but would love to hear from you if you've got an idea for a band or a venue we should hit up. The cities we hope to cover are: New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Chapel Hill, Greensboro, Asheville, Athens, Nashville, Louisville, Cincinnati, Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Albany, and Northampton.

• Best thing I ever did for you

  Posted on 3/27/2007 by Brian

  Jonathan Lethem has a new book about bands and love in Los Angeles. As part of his national tour, local bookstores have been asking local bands to write a song using some of the lyrics from the book. Brookline Booksmith was kind enough to ask us, and the result is "Monster Eyes".

  We'll be playing the song live tonight when Lethem reads from his new book at the Coolidge Corner Theater. We'll also be giving away limited-edition mini-CD's which include the song along with a live track and a song from our upcoming album.

  If you'd like some more to read, check out what The Village Voice has to say about the whole thing. And speaking of press, Music For Robots has a nice writeup about the album.

• How To Escape From A Straight Jacket, Iron Chains, And A Tank Of Water

  Posted on 2/22/2007 by Ryan

  We're pleased to welcome the newest member of the band, Mr. Elio DeLuca. Elio is a wonderful man, an amazing musician, and not responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocents as of the time of this writing. He can also be seen in Keys To The Streets Of Fear, fulfilling the requirement that half of HtH must also be in other fantastic bands.

  Elio's arrival marks the departure of Matt Brown. Matt was a founding member of the band and responsible for carving out a really unique sound in his cluttered area of the stage which came to be known as BrownTown. We'll miss him a lot and we wish him the best with his band Full Grown Spiders.

• New Ally Specializes In Loading Ideas Into Catapults & Launching Them East, West, North & South; Hot Air Balloon Purchased For Impending Tours

  Posted on 2/6/2007 by Ryan

  We can now properly announce that we've signed to Misra Records! Our first album will be out in a few months in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and thanks to the Internet, essentially everywhere. Misra Records have released all kinds of amazing albums by the likes of Shearwater, Destroyer, The Bruces, and more. Recently, the superhero-esque Cory Brown, founder of Absolutely Kosher Records (The Wrens, Sunset Rubdown, Mountain Goats), has taken over Misra and Hallelujah The Hills are one of his first signings for the new label lineup (read the details of the Misra/AK Records/Cory Brown mash-up here). Cory and everyone at Misra/AK Records are terrific, kind, creative people and we're so happy to have our music be escorted into the world by people who love music so deeply. We know it's been a long wait but the debut album is coming soon and it will be available to all!

• Our secret plans spoken out loud

  Posted on 1/8/2007 by Brian

  We've added two downloads to the Music section. First up is Ryan's demo of a new song that we're working on called “Paper Pilots”. It's coming together quite well; expect to see a practice recording here soon!

  The second song is a practice recording of “When Night Falls”. We've been playing this song since our first show, and had been planning on including it on our first album, but it just wasn't working. Attempts to rework the song just left everyone frustrated. Then, at the end of one particularly energetic practice, Ryan told Eric to “play Velvet Underground.” This recording starts right after that, and is the very first take of the new arrangement that we've been playing live.

• Salon.com wrap-up: second place!

  Posted on 12/26/2006 by Brian

  It took awhile to get the official results, and even longer for us to post them here, but we took second place in the Salon.com Song Search contest. The whole thing was a bit of a mess, culminating in the original first place song being disqualified. So, we're glad it's over, but we're also glad to be $1000 closer to a tour van. Thanks to everyone who voted!

• Finals at Salon.com, then winter vacation

  Posted on 12/4/2006 by Brian

  We had a rollicking good time at Great Scott last Thursday, made all the more special by the fact that it was our last show until February. The holidays are coming, people are going on much-needed vacations, and we've decided to take a short break to learn new tricks.

  In the meantime, the final round of Salon.com's Song Search is upon us. Our fight song and four other finalists are all vying for the $5000 grand prize. There are some tough acts in there; Bishop Allen seems to have a strong following and The Main Drag has quite a catchy tune. However, even one of the two $1000 runner-up prizes would help us out a lot, so please vote!

• Fight song available for download

  Posted on 11/14/2006 by Brian

  Thanks to everyone who voted for us on Salon.com's Song Search. We've moved on to the next round, so we'll be calling on you again in December when the five finalists square off for the five thousand dollar grand prize.

  In the meantime, we've made the album version of our fight song, “Hallelujah The Hills”, available for download in the Music section. Enjoy!

• Studio song on Salon.com

  Posted on 11/07/2006 by Ryan

  It's midterm elections day and strangely enough that applies to Hallelujah The Hills too. Our first studio song is available for download at Salon.com as part of their Song Search contest. If we garner enough votes, we might win five thousand dollars, which would allow us to buy a van and begin touring country. We'd very much like to do that. Please understand: we don't like the idea of music being turned into a contest, especially one that puts us up against another Boston favorite, Eli Reed and the True Loves. But, you know, a tour van would make us so much more band-like. We want to come to your town. Therefore, please vote!

• New digs

  Posted on 11/06/2006 by Brian

  We decided to finally put hallelujahthehills.com to good use and launch a proper website. It's still a work-in-progress, but already there's plenty to keep you distracted from the work you should be doing.

• 100 Musicians Answer the Same 10 Questions

  Posted on 10/19/2006 by Brian

  Ryan is part seventy of this wonderful series from Erasing Clouds. Make sure to read some of the others too - Tobin Sprout, Mountain Goats, Soltero, and Decemberists!!!

• What A Live Review Of This Band May Very Well Look Like

  Posted on 10/08/2006 by Ryan

  “Hallelujah the Hills played an exuberant set laced with delicate melodies inside sweeping, triumphant orchestration.” The Northeast Performer reviewed our show at Charlie's Kitchen with Keys To The Streets Of Fear. Read it here.

• “Guided by noises” in Boston's Weekly Dig

  Posted on 9/21/2006 by Ryan

  Last week we sat down with Michael Brodeur from The Weekly Dig for an interview. The resulting article is now available for all the world to see.

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