‘Boa Howl’ is the follow-up to Halves’ 2010 Choice Prize-nominated debut album ‘It Goes, It Goes (forever & ever)’, and sees the Irish trio return with a bolder, more experimental second offering.
Boa Howl features a mix of confident upbeat tracks side by side with slow experimental pieces, resulting in a cinematic, surreal journey over eleven songs. Guest vocals appear courtesy of Gemma Hayes, a fan of the band for some time. Canadian musician Elaine Kelly-Canning features on harp and added string performances come courtesy of local Swedish players. ‘Boa Howl’ refers to a summit on a mountain in China dubbed ‘White Boa Howl’, which the band felt captured the surreal nature of the songs. Musically, the album was inspired by a wide range of influences – from The Flamingos and Joe Meek, to Clouddead, to traditional Malian music and the 1950s orchestral arrangements of Gordon Jenkins.
Recorded over two weeks at Svenska Grammofon Studion in Gothenberg, and produced by Halves themselves, Boa Howl was created with the use of a vast collection of instruments, amps and vintage microphones. Eleven songs were recorded live on 2″ reel-to-reel tape by Oskar Lindberg, Gyorgy Barocsai and Halves’ live engineer Ciaran Mangan. The album was recorded using the infamous Neve analog mixing console previously owned by Queen and used by the likes of Johnny Cash and Aretha Franklin.
One of Ireland’s most intriguing acts, Halves is Brian Cash, Elis Czerniak & Tim Czerniak.
The trio blend a vast range of instruments, acoustic and electronic, to create an evocative, cinematic live experience. Their five releases to date have met with universal critical success, as well as earning them ardent fans from Tokyo to Seattle. Their live show is truly captivating; a mix of synched visuals, strings, brass, and electronics, anchored by soaring guitars and dual drummers.
In 2009 Halves made their debut TV performance, topping the viewers’ choice poll on RTE’s ‘Other Voices’ series. More recently the band played twice at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin Texas to great response, and have also played Eurosonic, Canadian Music Week and London Calling. Halves have supported the likes of British Sea Power, Mercury Rev, Low and PVT, and were nominated for the Choice Music Prize for their debut album.
Halves will play several live shows in Ireland over the summer including a record-release live performance at Tower Records in Dublin on July 6th, a headline performance at The Button Factory on July 13th, The Model Arts Centre in Sligo on July 20th, Bourke’s, Limerick on July 25th, Cypress Avenue, Cork on July 26th and a show at the Forbidden Fruit festival.
‘Boa Howl’ will release nationwide on July 5th 2013 through HATEISTHEENEMY Records on CD, deluxe gatefold vinyl (includes free mp3 download), and digital.
Live tour dates announced for July & August!
For more info check out boahowl.com | www.ahomeforhalves.com
New single ‘Drumhunter’ streaming at: http://soundcloud.com/halves/drumhunter
