Labels: self released
Review by: Andy Malcolm
I think I was initially attracted to this band because they had a song called Shodan. Also, a song called Munchak, possibly named after Mike Munchak, former offensive lineman of the Houston Oilers. Further investigation suggests this is likely, given that Mike was born in Scranton, the same place where wot this band is from. Interesting eh!
Anyways, this is a band I hadn’t heard of before, but they have cranked out an eminently listenable album of fuzzy indiemo. It’s the kind of thing that would have been on the Subjugation distro mailout in 1999 for £5 and whether you took a punt on it or not was entirely dependent on whether they had compared the band to some other band you were currently obsessing over. The music is simple and lo-fi, with the buzzing guitars nestled in behind a carefully erected white picket fence of distortion. Hardly a wall, anyway. Halfling mix up the pace rather nicely throughout this record, and prove adept at whatever they take on. There’s a massive difference between something like the rocking, early Get Up Kids-ian pop punk pace of “Faded Thought” and the following more thoughtful song “Your Old House”. They’ve also got the art of song construction down too, which is key. It means that the songs flow smartly rather than being rudely interrupted. The main singer has a drifty, strained style that fits the nature of the music superbly well. If pushed for a comparison, I guess I would say it was a bit like Superchunk muddled up with Joie de Vivre, and some of it reminds me of super early Promise Ring such as the poppy stand-out track “Munchak”. Hurrah! What this all means is that Halfling have got their own little niche going on here that helps it stand out in a crowded indiemo world.
A thoroughly enjoyable autumnal listen then.