Alaska

1. Into the Ether

2. Catholic Easter Colours

3. Glitter Spheres

4. Insecure

5. Dreams and Stars and Sleep

6. Lucky

7. L.S.D. Icing

8. Truly Madly Deeply

9. Isn't It Time You Faced the Truth?

10. Skylight

11. Of Traffic and the Ticking

12. Lucky [Reprise]

13. Monotone

Tracks:

All Bodies
Alaska
Croakies and Boatshoes
Selkies: The Endless Obsession
Breathe in, Breathe Out
Roboturner
Backwards Marathon
Medicine Wheel
Oprimer
Autodidact
Laser Speed
[DVD]

Customer Reviews:

Don't judge them by their record label.......2007-06-26

Yeah, Between the Buried and Me are on Victory Records. And yes, Victory Records roster contains a jumble of generic, boring, and god aweful metalcore bands. But for the love of all that is holy do not think for one minute that Between the Buried and Me are one of those bands! To put it lightly, Between the Buried and Me are one of the most original, talented and amazing bands in ROCK. (not just metal) These guys are crazy insane and Alaska is by far their best record. I'm not a fan of death metal, I find most of it ludicrous and often hilarious lyrically, but I am a fan of good music, and Between the Buried and Me play an infectious blend of technical metal, prog, jazz, alternative...basically everything; yet it never sounds forced, they're that good. Alaska is an epic, genre shattering peice of art that should be enjoyed by fans of good music, not just metal. Oh, and the lyrics aren't filled with rediculous gore or anything retarted like that.
Buy it. Play it. Love it.

Great hardcore band.......2007-06-22

These guys rock.
Buy all their CDs.
Go to all their shows.
I will

THE album of 2005.......2007-06-05

When purchasing this cd, I thought I was in for a typical average grindcore disc. Seeing that they were on vitcory also didn't help make me anticipate this album. This was one of the biggest surprises for me. Let me explain why:
1.All Bodies: 5/5 Amazing opener. This song sets you in the mood with time signature changes in the first ten seconds. Then comes in the heaviness all mixed with pinched harmonics, yet all controlled. Everything slows down and eventually come in the ridiculous appregios preceded by the first clean vocals. The song then carries on for 6 minutes with amazing progressive death metal beats and time changes.
2.Alaska: 4/5 The intro is absolutely jaw-breaking with superb sliding appregios tangled with amazing keyboard work from the vocalist. Then this brutally stops and leads into a heavier style very reminiscent of grindcore.
3.Croakies and Boatshoes: 3.5/5 Nothing special about this song, it merely sounds like a continuation of Alaska
4.Selkies The Endless Obsession: 5/5 Now the album really kicks in. This song starts off with a very progressive intro with time signatures ranging from 7/4 to 15/16 just to give you a slight taste of the complexity of BTBAM's songwriting. Then the song goes on into a brutal yet structured grindcore/death metal like sound. Then this stops and the acoustic guitars come in with great vocals. Lastly the song fades out with possibly the most beautiful appregios ever written in metal music.
5.Breathe In, Breathe Out: 4/5 This song is a short, beautiful interlude which is very atmospheric. Nothing special
6.Roboturner: 4.5/5 Definitely the most brutal song here. This song has some grindcore aspects with death metal beats while still keeping the progressive edge that sets BTBAM apart from others. The song ends in a massive breakdown of epic proportions that is sure to create the biggest mosh pits at their shows.
7.Backwards Marathon: 5/5 A very good techniqual song which puts forward the vocal skills of the singer with the beautfiul melodic interlude. A great song
8.Medicine Wheel: 5/5 An excessively beautiful and elegant interlude which includes numerous beautiful instruments all joined up to create a very airy, spacious melody. Truly amazing
9.The Primer: 4/5 This song kicks off with a very strong intro which reminds of the biggest power metal bands while the drummer is shaming even the biggest names in death metal. The song then leads off into a brutal yet melodic sequence of riffs while the drummer relentlessly punishes his kit while somehow managing to stick to the ever-changing time signatures.
10.Autodictat: 4/5 Undoubtedly one of the most brutal and progressive tracks in the album. This track starts off with a very heavy start and around two minutes BTBAM set off into an incomprehensive set of time signatures which would make even Dream Theater palish before the techniquality.
11.Laser Speed:2/5 This is just an outro which mixes exotic insturments in a brazilian/hawain beat.

Overall this was a truly unexpected release for me and this is a huge landmark for techniqual metal. Indeed, ever since this release I am still waiting for someone to surpass their talent
For fans of grindcore, death metal, metalcore and progressive metal

Pierre Schifflers

Absolutely stunning.......2007-02-09

For a lot of bands, being memorable means writing inoffensive, cookie-cutter hit singles with a few irresistible hooks and huge choruses that listeners can hum along with when they hear it playing from a local rock radio station. But North Carolina's quintet, Between The Buried And Me, spit on that rule book, shred it, and throw its remains out the window, opting instead to be memorable the old-fashioned way -- with brilliant songwriting, top-notch musicianship, and a sound all their own.

BTBAM's junior release, 2005's "Alaska" (a second for Victory Records), is the ultimate style/genre blender, mixing together hardcore and metalcore, technical death metal, and grindcore with a heavy mathcore influence, and even a fair amount of progressive metal and free jazz elements. (In other words, imagine Dillinger Escape Plan, Necrophagist, Cephalic Carnage, Meshuggah, Dream Theater, and Neurosis all playing at once, and you'll get the general idea.) Thus, this record isn't a snug fit for any one genre, but every influence can be heard equally. It perfectly balances just the right amounts of harmony, dissonance, restrained tempos, off-the-wall lunacy, head-spinning technicality, crazy time signatures, turn-on-a-dime tempo changes, crushing heaviness, and infectious melody, making it one of the most colorful, complex, intricate, engrossing, well-balanced, and textured heavy music releases of recent memory.

The album begins with one of its most meticulous and symphonic numbers, "All Bodies." It starts with a forceful, deeply grooving rhythm made up of muscular, churning riffs, a gluey bass line, and pounding drums. The song gets noticeably more melodic as it progresses, first with a handful of nicely wailing guitar solos (sprinkled into the back of the mix), then with an extremely surprising (and brief) spot of soulful, operatic vocals and spiraling arpeggio guitars. Then, the title track opens with a winding, keyboard-sounding guitar solo before segueing into driving, jackhammer blast beats, and a fiery, crunching lead that plows over everything in sight. The grindcore influence is especially apparent on the brutal third track, "Croakies and Boatshoes," which is highlighted by blasting drums and harsh, grindcore-worthy pig-squeal vocals.

The mostly instrumental "Selkies: The Endless Obsession," is the record's crown jewel, and is worth the price of admission alone (heck, I'd even say it's almost worth dying for!) It's a VERY docile, ethereal, and mindblowing piece which utilizes fantastic harmonies and melodies throughout. The mazy synthesizers, light-as-a-feather acoustic strums, humming bass line, slow drum beat, and angelic singing at the beginning of the song eventually fade out, and two ultra-melodic and pristine solos become the song's main highlight. The first solo is entrancing, dreamy, jazzy, and all-around amazing, and the second is a spectacular, jaw-dropping, five-string sweep solo that lasts for about a minute and evokes the glory days of Megadeth or Yngwie Malmsteen. These two guitar solos have got to be among the best ever recorded by any band, bar none!

Following "Selkies," "Breathe In, Breathe Out" is a pretty acoustic interlude that continues in the same heavenly melodic vein as that wonderful epic, but the next two bludgeoning tracks clearly show Between The Buried And Me's grindcore influence coming into play. The immensely b-b-b-brutal "Roboturner," scares the listener half to death (its manic guitar shredding, bouncy, walloping drums, and jarring, skin-crawling screams really pin your ears back); and the wild, off-the-map "Backwards Marathon," is bursting with careening leads and positively maniacal vocals.

Then, things briefly slow back down again for some more b-e-a-utiful ambience ("Medicine Wheel"), but tracks nine and ten, "The Primer" and "Autodidact," furiously erupt into scorching, Swedish death metal-tinged onslaughts. Finally, the set closes with another acoustic ditty, "Laser Speed," but this time a rhythmic, Brazilian-sounding drum beat also comes into the mix.

Although several of these songs have a nice, propulsive groove, "Alaska" features too many weird tempos and breakneck rhythm shifts for the album (as a whole) to lock onto a catchy, cohesive groove. Thus, be warned that "Alaska" isn't a typical extreme music album, so it will take several attentive listens to get used to, absorb, and appreciate fully. But don't worry, your patience will surely pay off -- "Alaska" is an exhilarating, captivating, and all-around excellent album with a wealth of contagious material that will stick with you for days. Also, this album proves Between The Buried And Me are definitely one of the best, smartest, and most innovative, realized, accomplished, interesting, and unique metal bands of this decade.

I thought it was actually good..........2007-02-03

I'm not a big fan of metalcore, as most of these bands sound alike, but I actually think this is really good. Sure, I do hear the death metal and metalcore, but the influences from other genres are prevalent on most tracks as well, ranging from progressive metal to jazz to alternative rock. Sure, I do find it rather disgusting that they support PETA, but if you look past that, the musicians are actually very talented. The guitar playing is totally crazy. The riffs and leads are very technical and have many weird time changes fueled by the drumming. The breakdowns arent all generic "chug chug" like most of the sea of metalcore clones, as they are more jazz infused. This isnt the best album ever, but I find it to be a damn good one.

Average customer rating:

Dynamicism + Rhythmicism = Acoustacism
Amazing CD
quick and quality
so fun!
This CD is AMAZING

Acoustacism
Kalai
Manufacturer: Excel Entertainment
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Crows Feet
Six Strings and The Rainy Day Man
Water
Learn Yourself
Rebel Hands

ASIN: B00020HBEQ
Release Date: 2006-06-01

Tracks:

Both Sides
On My Mind
Untouched
Divide Me
Shotgun Blues
One Life
It Passed
Indian Man
Patience Lies
In the Back
Fading Out
Strong Ties

Product Description

With his second release Kalai continues to gain popularity. His unique blend of folk is enjoyable for fans of all ages and musical tastes. Kalai has got it all... he knows how to play the guitar, great voice, and he definitely has the vibe.

Customer Reviews:

Dynamicism + Rhythmicism = Acoustacism.......2007-07-20

A drop or two of Jackson Browne, A couple shots of Ben Harper, A splish, splash of James Taylor, A lovin' spoonful of blues mixed into one disc that rocks. A definite must have in your music collection. Kalai is destined to be a star if he hasn't already reached that status...

Amazing CD.......2007-07-01

I love all of Kalai's albums. He is an amazing musician and I'm always listening to his CD's everywhere I go. Acoustacism is a CD everyone should own. Love it. Every song is perfect and rarely do you see that anymore on albums.

quick and quality.......2007-03-09

my product was on time, even early, it was packaged well, no complaints here!

so fun!.......2006-01-15

I can listen to this cd over and over, it's mellow and calming and fun. If you're thinking about buying this cd, listen to track 2, "On My Mind," and you will be hooked.

This CD is AMAZING.......2005-07-15

I was introduced to Kalai when he played at a small venue in Spokane, WA. I was blown away. This guy is so talented I couldn't believe I had never heard of him. I bought the CD Acoustacism and I listen to it all the time. It's a rare occasion that I enjoy EVERY song on a CD and I have to hand it to Kalai, every song is a gem. Don't miss this one.

Average customer rating:

Alaska Series: Spirit of Alaska
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Allegro Corporation
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | New Age | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Johnny Horton - Greatest Hits

ASIN: B000A2G9LW
Release Date: 2003-01-07

Tracks:

The Piper
Love Is Like A Rainbow
Seeds Of Love
Mirasol
October
Mountains Of Magic
Summer Sunset
Soft Kiss Of Spring
Summer Rain
Shrouded By Mist

Average customer rating:

buried treasure (best experienced with headphones)...
Original fresh sound-Halloween Alaska
Beautiful
Great new sound
Searching for a Late Summer Thunderstorm

Halloween, Alaska
Alaska Halloween
Manufacturer: East Side Digital
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Too Tall to Hide
The Peace Between Our Companies
The Minor Passions
The Bad Plus
Takk...

ASIN: B0008G2IGK
Release Date: 2005-04-26

Tracks:

You're It
All The Arms Around You
Des Moines
Call It Clear
Halloween
The Four Corners
State Trooper
Telling Me
All The Arms Around You (Vic 20 Remix)
Telling Me (Acoustic Demo)
Warning Track (Varsity Mix)

Amazon.com

This quartet came together from a handful of other bands in the Minneapolis area. Their eponymous debut was locally released in 2003, but continued and growing college radio play, combined with having a couple of the tracks ("All the Arms Around you" and "Des Moines") featured on the popular TV show The O.C., has brought forth this new, enhanced edition. The ethereal bearing of the eight songs reveal layers of textures and arrangement details, as the slowly paced rhythms expand to their appropriate lengths for more than an hour of music. James Diers' vocals have a lilting sonority that allows the melodies to float in and out of the the surrounding accompaniment, sometimes for the foreground lyrical components, other times as another color in their gorgeous tapestry. --David Greenberger

Customer Reviews:

buried treasure (best experienced with headphones)..........2006-03-25

how this has managed to fly beneath the radar for so long is astonishing.

'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.

Original fresh sound-Halloween Alaska.......2006-03-18

I had heard a sample clip of "all the arms around you" and found myself singing it all the time, often I only like one track from a particular artist but the offbeat asymetrical stylings kept me hooked, and it's now one of my favourite albums, a great buy!

Beautiful.......2006-03-08

Very elegant, moving and beautiful compositions from this Minnesota band. It's hard not to get wrapped up in the sparkling guitars, smooth synth washes and the ethereal voice. "The Four Corners" and "You're It" are the standouts. Dont' hesitate to hear this.

Great new sound.......2005-12-30

Halloween, Alaska's self-titled album is such a surprise. My 18 year old son turned me on to them and I am impressed. If you can imagine the best of Sting updated to 2005 you sort of have it. Great new sound and ingeneous engineering. Relaxing, well written and playable at all times. Give it a try.

Searching for a Late Summer Thunderstorm.......2005-05-13

Everyone keeps trying to steal my Halloween, Alaska CD. This is the best band to come around after centuries of bad luck and is quickly becoming an underground favorite. From the building, captivating, frantic reaches of "All the Arms Around You" to the super mellow "Halloween" this is a CD you want to put on repeat while you pull your lover under the blankets. It's poignant, and plaintive, and sad, and hopeful. The track "Halloween" invokes that electric, expectant feeling of right before a late summer thundershower in the Midwest, when the air is thick and wet and lightening bugs are flickering around, and James Diers hauntingly sings "Here I'll make my home, again and again... again and again..."

In "Four Corners" he whispers, "I've found the one to keep" in such a bittersweet way, it makes you wonder what happened to make his declaration so nostalgic. Is he singing about the same person he called his "delicate slip of sunshine" from the slightly less nostalgic "Call it Clear"? ("Why do you think we're here? Is that why they call it clear?")

Here's to Halloween, Alaska's success. My iTunes will play this CD again and again, as I sit on our back porch with my husband and kittens and watch the fireflies flickering in the apple orchard, waiting for the approaching thunderstorm to let loose with its torrential downpour.

Average customer rating:

Awesome. My favorite traditional gospel CD of 2001.

Right Now God
Alaska Mass Choir
Manufacturer: Jdi Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music

Gospel | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Battlefield
Can't Nobody Do Me Like Jesus
I Know It Was the Blood
Leaning on Jesus
Nobody But You

ASIN: B00005RGIV
Release Date: 2001-12-12

Tracks:

Right Now God
Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus
Joy Great Joy
Trust In Him
(Reprise) Right Now God
Jehovah Jireh
Oh What He's Done
You Alone Are Worthy
Christian Race
River Of Life
Untitled
JDI Sampler

Customer Reviews:

Awesome. My favorite traditional gospel CD of 2001........2002-05-18

This is one of those gospel albums where you can REALLY tell that the participants prayed before they began working on it. The music is honest and has a "workshop feel" to it (but make no mistake: the sound is GREAT), the amazing Dorinda Clark-Cole is heavily involved, and the message is crystal clear. Each song is a classic.

Tracks:

Theme From Autumnland
Ran Into A Coroner
Does Your Mother Feel Sick?
A Happy Home
Dirty Mouth
Heavy Foot
Train Wrecks
Allergies and Lust
Wet Hay In A Barn
Random Car
Controlled Climate
It'll Keep You Warm
Almost The Earth
Quake Song

Album Description

On January 11th, Oakdale CA, band Built Like Alaska releases the remarkable Autumnland, on California Central Valley spawned labels Future Farmer Recordings and Grandaddy's own Sweat Of The Alps Music Products. Aaron Burtch of Grandaddy explains "Their new LP Autumnland is the summation of seven years plying their craft patiently, writing tiny epics that deliver you to their disturbingly beautiful world of mic stands draped in cobwebs, wind chimes hanging from cow skulls, and prosthetic limbs playing piano."

Customer Reviews:

Built Like Alaska Is Great!!!.......2006-04-26

I can never get sick of this. It's really a grand album, so much about it baffles me. Sheer, powerful music that echoes out sappy happy sadness, it's really moving stuff. I've had it for a while and keep returning just to see if it's really as good as I remember it. Almost unbelievable, surely underrated stuff. I can't get over the 2nd track. It's a good combination of synths, easy drums and guitar with a very folk influence but too rocking to help it. I'm biased though cause I come from a town that's next to the town they're from and it sounds like home to me, which makes me feel reminiscent and homesick.

good tunes.......2005-03-25

Built Like Alaska is a band from the Modesto scene. That's right. We have seen bands like Grandaddy and Earlimart already. Now we have Built Like Alaska who have been around for seven years themselves. All those bands were very low-key, unpretentious, melodic bands bringing some of the odds and ends of the heartland to urban hipsters. Back in 2000, Grandaddy was a breathe of fresh air, because we all wanted a little realism in our music. Five years later, being a regular Joe seems like a clich. Every band looks like Grandaddy and rides skateboards. This is not to deny Built Like Alaska any love. Neil Jackson is as talented as any singer now working in this format. This may be the best record of the year. It's just that anything that comes out that gives me the feeling Calexico does, I feel that I have to move on to the next record. Built Like Alaska is doing movie soundtrack now. I may like this record more in years to come.

Flawless.......2005-02-17

Autumnland is an absolutely fantastic album. It is totally flawless... the songs all blend together so well. Listening to the album is a proper experience you won't find in many other places. A proper masterpiece.

And before you dismiss BLA as another Grandaddy-wannabe... don't. They have a totally unique sound and whilst there are obvious reasons why they will always be compared, BLA are a band in their own right and are really nothing like Grandaddy.

Its one of those albums that really grows on you- like all great albums, it gets better and better after every listen.

If you like this, head over to www.sweatofthealps.com and buy their first CD "Hopalong" which is also totally unmissable.

Average customer rating:

Tracks are...

Higher Ground

Manufacturer: Windstar
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

It's About Time
Rhymes & Reasons
I Want to Live
Seasons of the Heart
Windsong

ASIN: B000CREKY8

Product Description

Digitally Mixed & Mastered. 12 Tracks

Customer Reviews:

Tracks are..........2006-05-31

1. Higher Ground
2. Home Grown Tomatoes
3. Whispering Jesse
4. Never A Doubt
5. Deal With The Ladies
6. Sing Australia
7. A Country Girl In Paris
8. For You
9. All This Joy
10. Falling Leaves (The Refugees)
11. Bread And Roses
12. Alaska And Me

Average customer rating:

another brilliant album
Please enter a title for your review:
Still Waiting
BRILLIANT!

Too Tall to Hide
Alaska Halloween
Manufacturer: East Side Digital
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Halloween, Alaska
The Peace Between Our Companies
The Minor Passions
Youth Oriented
The Trials of Van Occupanther

ASIN: B000ARG2GE
Release Date: 2005-09-13

Tracks:

New Stain
Drowned
Light Bulb Does
I Can't Live Without My Radio
You and Me Both
Bad News Sticks
Forever
Receiving Line
Glide

Customer Reviews:

another brilliant album.......2006-05-10

someone below said he/she couldn't find a melody on the second halloween, alaska album. i suggest cleaning the wax out of the ears and giving it another listen.

giant steps aren't always necessary in band evolution. instead of ditching their signature sound, the four lads who make up halloween, alaska instead gradually build on their sparkling, self-titled debut. for all it's beauty, the debut album was often glacially slow. 'too tall,' however, opens with 'a new stain' and its pulsating, manic synthline. it's the first sign that 'too tall,' while similar to the debut, is a different animal.

the second track, 'drowned,' is the easy standout. the 2:30 mark of the song makes the whole purchase worthwhile. given that halloween, alaska's songs tend to focus on atmosphere, 'drowned' is like being ripped off a placid lake and dropped in the middle of sonic bliss. it's a wonderful moment. (and the reason 'drowned' is easily my favorite song of the year so far). h,a's cover of ll cool j's 'i can't live without my radio' is an interesting choice of song to cover, but as the band mentions on their website, they do it sincerely. generally it works. the other standout track is 'you and me both,' which incidentally evokes a very yazoo-ish opening keyboard line. it also displays some of the band's better lyrics ('ride the rims of what remains of me). one of their strengths is the wondeful lyrical imagery. according the 'bonus materials' on the disc, h,a has no principle songwriter. i don't know who's responsible for the lyrics, but this may be the only case where mutliple lyric writers in a band actually works.

the last few songs follow the same general pattern as the debut album, but that's by now means a knock on the songs nor the band.

hopefully h,a will get more and more deserved recognition. this kind of ethereal, visceral beauty demands more attention. do yourself a favor and get both this album and their debut.

Please enter a title for your review: .......2005-12-17

Despite their supposed OC buzz no one really seems to know who these guys are. It would be nice if Halloween Alaska got a little more attention and Death Cab For Cutie got a little less. This album is more diverse than their last one, seeming simultaneously retro and futuristic. Their synth tones are surprisingly unique, seemingly existing outside the influence of any modern indie-electro cliques. More Phil Collins than Postal Service. A New Stain is kinda experimental and never finds it's groove. Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty good track, but when Drowned starts it's like ok now the album's really getting started. The richly textured synth line floats along hinting at a subtle buried melody that pulses with the shimmery reverb. It reminds me a bit of Springsteen's Streets Of Philadelphia, or Donna Lewis' Nothing Ever Changes, except with a hard beat. Kinda adult contemporary, but just edgy enough to shake off any Enya comparisons, and more experimental and interesting than the likes of Coldplay or Death Cab. This is like new-age music with a punk mentality. It's like they've invented a completely new way of treading the path of cheese while lacing it with candy-coated barbed wire.

Still Waiting.......2005-12-09

I'd like to preface this with the fact that I really like their first cd. I've listened to this a number of times, and have yet been unable to walk away with a melody that I can hum or whistle. The music is both sparse and dense at the same time, and I get confused as to what I should be listening for. It's like watching Shakespeare, when all the characters are played by Ben Stein. I'd like to endorse it as good chill out music, but the lack of melody really causes for a boring listen. Stick with their first disc everyone, and pray they hit the mark next time.

BRILLIANT!.......2005-09-25

I have been a Halloween Alaska fan since the release of their first album. Almost two years later and me having played through 3 copies of their first record (yes, I know I need to take better care of my cds) their second installment is finally out and I can honestly say that it very easily tops the beauty of their first. The music jumps from a heart-breaking mellow feel to a rock-fist pumping orgasm of sound in a moments notice without ever feeling out of place. These 4 guys have produced yet another album that easily jumps into my top ten of all time. If you loved their first album then buy this cd! If you have never heard of Halloween Alaska... then buy this cd. Don't second guess the purchase... you won't regret it.

Average customer rating:

good stuff
This album is good, but alaska! is even greater
Thumbs up for Alaska!
Nice debut

Emotions
Alaska!
Manufacturer: B-Girl Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Progressive | Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Alaska
Rescue Me - The Complete Third Season
Rescue Me - The Complete First Season

ASIN: B000089YAY
Release Date: 2003-02-11

Tracks:

Western Shore
Love (To Be Your Main)
Sun Don't Shine
Broken
S.S./Candycane
S.S./Candycane (Continued)
Rust and Cyanide
Lost the Gold
Resistance
Nightmare X
In My Time

Customer Reviews:

good stuff.......2005-12-17

I bought both their CDs after seeing the live show. Both CDs are good, but DANG their live show was so awesome the albums dont quite do em justice. The best 3 piece I have ever heard. The other reviews are right on. its just good stuff.

This album is good, but alaska! is even greater.......2005-02-26

This album is above all things, quite beautiful. It treads the lines between, folk and rock, melencholy and aggression, love and apathy, and in doing so, forces the listener to actually listen, becoming an active partner through the songs.
Songs such as "Broken", with the haunting attrative voice of Russell Pollard making you want save him, and "In My Time" in which the cruchy guitar and powerful lyric make you want to fight the rising tide. Almost all the songs have a heart and direction lacking in most contemporary bands. I would recommend this album to almost anybody.
But beyond the album, i had the oppertunity to have seen them live on more than one acation and i belive that they are the best live band around in which no one knows of yet, and i say yet because at several of these shows, they played only "new" songs from their up and coming album, "Rescue through Tomahawk".
These songs hold a wieght and power that shatter you. Songs like the beautiful heart wrenching "Surrender", which, start of slow and gradually build to an emotion high of love and need, "Krystal Korpse" with it's serpentinesque jangle and spook house feel, and "Real is your Control", which i believe will be a big hit for them in the future.
So in review. Buy Emotions and Be on the Look out for Rescue Through Tomahawk, which will be one of the best albums of 2005.

Thumbs up for Alaska!.......2003-04-08

I got the CD late last year and I can only recommend buying it! It's melancholic and happy and rocks!
I'm from Germany and it's a pity this CD isn't out over here, it's like... exactly what's missing!
Have a listen and then go and get it :-)

Nice debut.......2003-02-20

I recommend buying this disk if you are interested in up-and-coming new rock bands, especially those with a guitar-based 'lo-fi' bent. I saw them live in Philly and their music was part acoustic, part electric. Their set went from mellow acoustic duets to full-on, noise-inspired, energized rock. Their music is melodic and uses interesting chord changes, song structures, and vocal harmonies. It is alternative/lo-fi in genre as opposed to blues-based rock.

This disc includes the best from their live set. Comparisons to Sebadoh, Beck, Hayden, Smashing Pumpkins (Pisces Iscariot), and early Radiohead come to mind. While their music may sometimes borrow from these artists, it merely references them without copying. In this way, they make a unique addition to a woefully sparse Lo-Fi genre. The best cuts are the driving melody of 'Broken', the high-energy waltz of 'The Western Shore', the epic 'In My Time', and the Beck-would-be-proud 'Rust and Cyanide'.

Despite a few near-misses on the disc, it is listenable straight through and every time I listen to it, I hear more that I like. For the hits noted above and their potential for a 5-star disc in the near future, I give them 4 stars for this excellent debut. Rock on Alaska and come back to Philly soon!

Average customer rating:

SIMPLEMENTE LO MEJOR

Simplemente Lo Mejor
Alaska y los Pegamoides
Manufacturer: Disky Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | International | Styles | Music
General | Latin Music | Styles | Music
Latin Pop | Latin Music | Styles | Music
International | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0000085DJ
Release Date: 1997-10-23

Tracks:

Bailando
El Bote de Colon
Rebelion de los Electrodomesticos
Tribu de las Chochoni
Tokyo
El Plan
Alta Tension
Otra Dimension
Linea Se Corto
Estrategia Militar
Horror en el Militar
Horror en el Hipermercado
Reacciones
Volar

Album Details

Best of from Spanish Three-piece Act Comprised of Olvido Gara (Aka Alaska), Ana Curra and Eduardo Benaventeonce. The Later Two Went on to Form Alaska Y Dinarama. The Internationally Known Band was Part of the Spanish New Wave Known as Movida Madrilena.

Customer Reviews:

SIMPLEMENTE LO MEJOR.......2002-11-06

En este album encuentras las mejores canciones de Alaska y Los pegamoides, cuando compre este cd nunca habia escuchado las canciones Reacciones,Volar y En El jardin, que se hicieron mis favoritas de este cd, quizas no sea simplemente lo mejor como dice el titulo del cd, porque hay otros temas de Los Pegamoides
como Dan Las Doce,Las Moscas,Dr. Spock,Quiero Salir,Muy Serca de Ti,La Casa De La Infeccion y Apariciones.
que vienen el el cd titulado Mundo Indomito.
este cd de simplemente lo mojor, su calidad de sonido es excelente y la fidelidad magnifica que parece ver sido grabado en el siglo 21 ya que son grabaciones de principios de los 80's.

Rock Music:

Rock Music