Episode 038: Hallelujah the Hills
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About two years ago I interviewed the members of The Stairs on the eve of their final shows as several members were following the calling of higher education. The Stairs released two albums, 2002's Miraculous Happens and 2005's On Sleep Lab, both of which were brilliant and ambitious pieces of rock and roll with instrumentation and a scale that defied its lo-fi production and budget. So, if you want the full story, make sure you listen to this, too.
Around the same time as The Stairs were ending, Ryan Walsh, vocalist + guitarist and one of the band's songwriters, and Eric Meyer, The Stairs' drummer, formed Hallelujah the Hills and started recruiting new members. The band now includes David Bentley (cello + guitar), Elio DeLuca (organ, Moog, guitar + sampler), Joseph Marrett (bass), and Brian Rutledge (trumpet + melodica). The outfit recorded their debut, Collective Psychosis Begone in 2006, signed to Misra Records early in 2007, and it was just released on June 5th. The band is heading on tour now, hitting a number of cities along the east coast and mid-west.
Hallelujah the Hills is less lo-fi than The Stairs, but just as (or more?) ambitious as the earlier CDs. Fans of The Stairs will not be put-off by Hallelujah the Hills, though, but they do like to rock a bit more.
Hallelujah the Hills have been compared to the Elephant 6 (the collective of bands and musicians who emerged from Louisiana in the mid 90s that includes The Apples in Stereo, Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control, and Beulah among many others), The Mountain Goats, Guided by Voices, and Wilco. I suppose there is some truth to these, but what sets Hallelujah the Hills apart is Walsh is a versatile songwriter first, with the layers of instruments and arrangements that are added to them only serving to build upon a strong foundation.
Hallelujah the Hills' name comes from a 1963 film directed by Adolphas Mekas which is not easy to find (and Netflix doesn’t have it to rent!), but you can watch a few clips of the absurdist comedy here and here where you can also purchase a VHS copies.
Collective Psychosis Begone only runs about 46 minutes, but Hallelujah the Hills has crafted an epic album that takes the listener through an impressive variety of musical sounds, styles, and emotions. After listening, I have the same kind of exhausted and invigorated feeling I get from other epic records, like Sandinista!, Exile on Main Street, Let Me Come Over, or Slanted and Enchanted. Not to put the pressure on 'em, but I wonder where a double (or triple) album from Hallelujah the Hills might take us…?
And, as a result of listening to Collective Psychosis Begone as complete album (remember them?) for many months, I thought it would be most interesting to do a behind the scenes look at each song or a "director’s commentary," as film-school grad Walsh so accurately called it.
Hallelujah the Hills heads out on tour in mid-June and you can also see a video clip that Well-Rounded Radio taped of the band live at TT the Bear's several months to the right or on our Brightcove channel.
I recently met with all the members (except Eric Meyer, who was on tour with his other band, Ho-ag) in Norwood, Massachusetts to discuss:
* whose voice is it that they sampled in Raise the Flag?
* is Sleep Agent about terrorism—or about what happens when you awake?
* why do they call their eponymous anthem The Fight Song?
Songs featured in the interview (all in order from Collective Psychosis Begone) include:
1) Hallelujah the Hills (in preview)
2) Slow Motion Records Broken at Break Neck Speeds (demo; not on album)
3) Sleeper Agent (Just Waking Up)
4) Wave Backwards to Massachusetts
5) Hallelujah the Hills
6) The House Is All Lit Up
7) Raise the Flag of Your Sibling’s Favorite Daydream
8) (The Crux of the Camera Man)
9) Slow Motion Records Broken at Break Neck Speeds
10) Effie’s on the Other Side
11) The Trap
12) Collective Psychosis Begone
13) It’s All Been Downhill Since the Talkies Started to Sing
14) To All My Scientist Colleagues I Bid Your Farewell
Photo credit: JB Galusha
If you enjoyed this interview, give a listen to past shows we've done with Winterpills,
Piebald,
Francine,
and, of course, The
Stairs in the Well-Rounded Radio archives.
Brian recommends Machine Go Boom.
David recommends Andrew Bird, Devin Davis, and Spoon.
Joseph recommends (which HtH band-member Eliio DeLuca also plays in), Tulsa, Viva Viva, Roky Erickson, ESG, and Nick Cave.
Ryan recommends Ford and Fitzroy.
Well-Rounded Radio recommends Enough Project and Operation Happy Note (read more at Washington Post)..
