Halaska

Halaska
Mayantology
Self-Released
Street: 07.09
Halaska = Hella + Piglet + The Appleseed Cast
Let me start off by urging you not to take the band name, album name or any of the track titles at face value. Fortunately, they're one of the better progressive math-rock outfits I've heard in a long time. Unfortunately, they have this obnoxious obsession with puns (as you’ll soon find out). On Mayantology, Halaska throws their hat in today's frenzying ring of progressive math-rock—and they deserve to. On tracks like "Brian Emo," they punch out frantically busy guitar structures while the clatteringly chaotic drummer lays a Zach Hill–esque patterned foundation underneath it. The album's title track adds some crunch on the jolting instrumentals and showcases the band's talent in a more static-filled lens, à la This Will Destroy You. This album is perfectly embedded with progressive rock solidity from start to finish—even though the “punny-or-die” labeling scheme warrants a few eye rolls. –Gregory Gerulat - Slug Magazine

Puzzling that a town not only intensely music-centric but one that also values virtuosity hasn't spawned more progressive rock bands. Fortunately, some adventurous souls persist, encouraged by code words like "post rock" and "math rock." Halaska embodies the label on Mayantology, the local quartet's knotty, complex music borrowing as heavily from mavericks like Frank Zappa and (especially) King Crimson as it does from free jazz and self-consciously "experimental" music. Anchored by Eric Elledge's thick bass and Gonzalo Ramos' busy drumming, guitarists/singers Dieter Geisler and Logan Giles extract infectious melodies from a chaotic melange of time signatures and African-influenced axe work on the punningly labeled "Robocopulate," "Nicotine Wolf," and "Brian Emo." Seven Circles avoids obvious precedents on its debut Imaginal Cells, instead evoking the anthem dynamics, rise-and-fall arrangements, and shifting rhythmic structures of hometown heroes Explosions in the Sky. Beat keeper Russell Hudson and bassist Bryce Spears keep the momentum surging, allowing guitarist Robert Howard's battalion of effects to engulf "To Be," "Peace Love Thanks," and a clever cover of The X-Files theme with six-string tsunamis. Complex vets the Invincible Czars travel furthest afield from genre cliches, while remaining most faithful to their original impulse. Martyrs of the Alamo pulls in rock, klezmer, cowboy, and classical music into a 28-cut silent film soundtrack. Repeating motifs and variations on the same melody emphasize the LP's purpose in accompanying visuals, but the band's compositional reach and instrumental skill remains impressive throughout. - Austin Chronicle

Puzzling that a town not only intensely music-centric but one that also values virtuosity hasn't spawned more progressive rock bands. Fortunately, some adventurous souls persist, encouraged by code words like "post rock" and "math rock." Halaska embodies the label on Mayantology, the local quartet's knotty, complex music borrowing as heavily from mavericks like Frank Zappa and (especially) King Crimson as it does from free jazz and self-consciously "experimental" music. Anchored by Eric Elledge's thick bass and Gonzalo Ramos' busy drumming, guitarists/singers Dieter Geisler and Logan Giles extract infectious melodies from a chaotic melange of time signatures and African-influenced axe work on the punningly labeled "Robocopulate," "Nicotine Wolf," and "Brian Emo." Seven Circles avoids obvious precedents on its debut Imaginal Cells, instead evoking the anthem dynamics, rise-and-fall arrangements, and shifting rhythmic structures of hometown heroes Explosions in the Sky. Beat keeper Russell Hudson and bassist Bryce Spears keep the momentum surging, allowing guitarist Robert Howard's battalion of effects to engulf "To Be," "Peace Love Thanks," and a clever cover of The X-Files theme with six-string tsunamis. Complex vets the Invincible Czars travel furthest afield from genre cliches, while remaining most faithful to their original impulse. Martyrs of the Alamo pulls in rock, klezmer, cowboy, and classical music into a 28-cut silent film soundtrack. Repeating motifs and variations on the same melody emphasize the LP's purpose in accompanying visuals, but the band's compositional reach and instrumental skill remains impressive throughout. - Austin Chronicle

Calling this math rock might be a severe understatement; Halaska’s idea of song structure puts them in a league all of their own. This first LP is beyond experimental, and moves on with a post-everything feel while alluding to free jazz, avant-garde rock and moments of carefully calculated noise. One might think something this meticulous would alienate the listener, but somehow Mayantology is instantly catchy – and don’t even get me started on that rhythm section… - Inforty

Math-rock of the highest degree, Halaska are doing their version of post-everything with an unparalleled attention to detail. Patching on ideas like jazz, avant-garde experimentalism and prog-rock playfulness, even though it’s heavily layered and often busy sounding, it never quite steers out of control and still keeps plenty of melody involved. Easily one of the most impressive rhythm sections of recent history here, too. Well worth putting on your radar. (Tom Haugen) - New Noise Magazine

So, have you ever wondered what the hell it’d sound like if you were to somehow crossbreed Frank Zappa, Austin instro-rock dudes Explosions in the Sky, and Menomena? Well, I make no guarantees, but it just might sound like Halaska’s Mayantology.
The Austin band dives headlong into the whole prog-pop realm (which seems to be growing by leaps and bounds lately), and they do it with aplomb, managing to show off some stunning musicianship while never getting pedantic or “hey, look at what I can do!” They’re playful at times, to be sure, particularly at the start of “C3 Presents” and “Buyer’s Remorse Code,” but there’s still a heavily cerebral feel to it all, like the members of the quartet are intentionally, deliberately doing everything exactly the way they want it.
The aforementioned “C3 Presents” is an intriguing shot across the bow, heavy on the slap-bass with stuttering, occasionally dub-like rhythms, and while it begins with these almost “childish”-sounding melodies, it quickly surges sideways and gets very dark and brooding. “Brian Emo” follows a similar path, busily melodic and intricate like the best tracks by Caddywhompus or Sunrise and Ammunition, while “Placentaur” is quieter and more thoughtful as a whole.
“Buyer’s Remorse Code” takes the complex, layered thing to extremes, with the initial fingersnaps and la-la-la backing vocals eventually getting buried beneath all the instruments until the whole thing collapses completely into a mess of spazzy noise (and no, that’s not a bad thing). “Nicotine Wolf” is all over the place, too, skittering and quasi-funky and noisy but somehow still holding tightly together; the guitar lines are noodly and warbly, snaking in and out of one another at a pace that’ll make your head spin.
Title track “Mayantology” is complex but burly and muscular, reminding me of nothing so much as Fugazi or The Jonx, and then “Secret Stuff” ambles along for a bit before it revs up to a speed-stagger, achieving its full velocity right at the distorted guitars come roaring through. And on the Zappa end of things, there’s “Ray’s in the Bar,” which is all snark and strangeness and nonchalantly flawless musical skill.
Mayantology closes out with the awesomely-named “Manifest Dentistry,” which is a chiming, shimmering, stomping chunk of prog-rock badassery, one that it feels like the Halaska guys have been building up to all along. It’s heavy and fast and complicated, and just when you think you’ve got a handle on it, it shifts into something else, always remaining just out of reach.
[Halaska is playing 9/5/13 at the Avant Garden.]
(self-released; Halaska -- http://www.halaskaband.com/; Halaska (Facebook) -- https://www.facebook.com/Halaskaband; Halaska (Twitter) -- https://twitter.com/Halaskaband)
- See more at: http://www.spacecityrock.com/2013/09/05/halaska-mayantology/#sthash.7b50MR9t.dpuf - Space City Rock

Halaska’s Mayantology is a complex, shape-shifter of an album that defies expectations as much as categorization. As a follow up to 2012’s Los Angeles, Texas, this latest LP covers all kinds of new ground for the experimental four-piece without straying too far from their previous material. It’s a combination that’s sure to leave more than a few people scratching their heads, but everything from the compositions, to the mixing, to the vocals are executed with precision and aplomb in order to create a unique, almost transcendent experience.

I first came to hear Halaska earlier this year when they contacted me on Twitter asking me to check out their stuff because they (likely based on reviews here and my various tweets) thought I’d be into it. I was. Their playful, but technical, compositions reminded me of an almost free jazz take on the instrumental math rock of such groups as Don Caballero or early Battles. It was avant-garde, but approachable – even if only from a somewhat oblique angle.

Mayantology builds in many ways on much of the foundation that had been lain on Halaska’s previous recordings. The first and perhaps most striking is the inclusion of vocals on over half of the album’s 12 tracks. While most formerly instrumental bands have traditionally failed to impress me when deciding to add vocals, Dieter Geisler and Logan Giles actually have some vocal talent with a tonality and delivery that complements the rest of the music well. Lyrically, Myantology treads the same ground that it does instrumentally, swerving through abstract and progressive avenues with lyrics that (like the album’s song titles) feature no lack of clever word play, puns, and portmanteaus.



One of the more striking features of the album compared to their previous work is the inclusion of several heavier, prog rock-influenced tracks, especially during the album’s first half. Two of the album’s opening tracks: “C3 Presents” and “Brian Emo,” have a structure and style that recall such progressive titans as Yes and The Mars Volta, with their darker bent and an almost ethereal vibe. Not content to stay long in one place, however, the album takes us on a stylistic tour of the Halaskan countryside where syncopation is currency, arpeggios roam free and no time signature is turned away at the border.

About halfway through, the album pokes its head above the progressive plains for a bit and takes us across some more fractal terrain with a few numbers, such as the titular “Mayantology,” that rely more on math rock in the vein of such Sergeant House label bands as Tera Melos. As if that wasn’t enough, peppered throughout the album are moments of profound loftiness that, at times, have the band recalling the epic sounds of such local instrumental guitar groups as Explosions in the Sky and The Calm Blue Sea. It’s enough to leave one exhausted by album’s end, but thoroughly satisfied at the same time.

All told, Mayantology is way more than I was expecting and entirely welcome. As a sonic journey, this is one hell of a trip.

- Brian Audette - Ovrld - Brian Audette

Austin, TX purveyors of advant-garde progressive rock, Halaska, released their debut full length album entitled Mayantology today & it is available in Austin record stores as well as the usual online retailers. Since the release of their first EP, 2011's Weekends at the Yogurt Shop, it has been clear that Halaska is a band that is never afraid. Evidenced by their use of unconventional song structures, blending of different musical styles and world influences, time changes, and unique sounds, Halaska has proven that they are a band who is willing to try anything.
Their upcoming full-length debut, Mayantology, takes that same fearlessness and expounds on it. All of the unique sounds and distinct style of their previous works are present on this LP but Mayantology finds the band more determined, more focused, and more intense than ever. This new found growth came with the addition of a new bass player as well as the addition of vocals. There are rhythm sections that explode with intricacies one has not seen from Halaska before. The vocals add a raw and organic sound and are truly an additional instrument on the album culminating to the weirdest, yet most accessible Halaska album to date.
Here’s what Ovrld had to say about the new album “Halaska’s Mayantology is a complex, shape-shifter of an album that defies expectations as much as categorization…As a sonic journey, this is one hell of a trip.”
Halaska is:
Eric Elledge – Bass
Gonzalo Ramos – Drums
Logan Giles – Vocals, Guitar
Dieter Ray Geisler – Vocals, Guitar
Halaska tour dates:
August 30 – Rubber Gloves – Denton,TX w/Vaults of Zin
August 31 – Grotto – Ft. Worth,TX
September 5 – AvantGarden – Houston,TX
September 6 – The Ten Eleven – San Antonio,TX
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Talking about the use of unconventional song structures… well listening is believing here… Have a go and experience for yourself. This is most probably one of the best cocktail of avant-garde, post-progression and unstructured math-rock noise. The songs are by far super complex but it will only take one listen for you to dig it. Hit play and indulge yourself lads. Especially those who passionately dig math-rock noise with similar drumming to [ Toe's ], [ Te ] or [ LITE ]. I even thought they were Japanese at the beginning HA. The new album is set on “name your price” as of this moment and I’ll suggest you hurry before its reverse to a fix price. Go get it. - The Siren Sound

Halaska at Mohawk. Austin-based experimental rock band (with shades of prog, free jazz and punk) move through their music with a strong sense of focus despite the number of moving parts. With Three Leaf and Cheetah Warehouse. 9 p.m. $6. 912 Red River St. mohawkaustin.com - Austin360.com | Austin American-Statesman

“Halaska’s music is fast, complicated, and compelling in the same way that thunderstorms make my pupils dilate. The spot on drumming was locked in with quick turning bass grooves. Meanwhile the guitar work shifted the songs into different heady avenues before the whole rapid outfit grabbed the audiences by our collective chins and swung us in new directions.” - Christian Thompson

Here is one of the stranger records of the year. Instrumental, experimentalist jam quartet Halaska combine found sound architecture, funk, prog, world music, offbeats and various outre sound effects on top of their mix of drums, bass, guitar and keys. The members, Dieter Geisler, Logal Giles, Michal Lentz and Gonzalo Ramos, are extremely tight with one another, even as they play profoundly avante-garde music. Their approach, and the fact that their music is instrumental, makes the band’s new album, Los Angeles, Texas, feel less like a collection of songs and more like one, sustained listening experience.

This is a mark in its favor. The album is quite short, with 11 tracks loping by in 27 minutes. Each song, from the buzzy “Free Mason Jars” to the vaguely Western “Baroque Ninjas,” twists and turns unexpectedly with tempo changes, dynamic shifts and intricate layers of melodies and rhythms. There are also a few tracks that are little more than effects-laden sound clips.

While there are few melodies that are unforgettably catchy, the continued sway of the music gets under your skin. Halaska’s ability to go from ska grooving to hard metal shredding in the space of 10 seconds is pretty astounding. The horn intro on “Funk Hauser” is a mid-record energy pill. On the other end of the spectrum, “Space Yam” trades the usually manic efforts for a galactic, bass-driven piece that’s disarmingly lovely. The album finale, “Occupie Eating Contest,” underlies its tongue-in-cheek title with a soaring climax.

In Halaska, Austin has something that grabs ahold of the same irreverent, far-out worldview of The Butthole Surfers, Frank Zappa, Primus or another close-to-home group, Opposite Day. Like these groups, Halaska comes with stars in their eyes and chops at their fingers. I’m confident that one day, as Halaska hones its craft, the band will create a work on par with their influences. - Austin Music and Entertainment

Here is one of the stranger records of the year. Instrumental, experimentalist jam quartet Halaska combine found sound architecture, funk, prog, world music, offbeats and various outre sound effects on top of their mix of drums, bass, guitar and keys. The members, Dieter Geisler, Logal Giles, Michal Lentz and Gonzalo Ramos, are extremely tight with one another, even as they play profoundly avante-garde music. Their approach, and the fact that their music is instrumental, makes the band’s new album, Los Angeles, Texas, feel less like a collection of songs and more like one, sustained listening experience.

This is a mark in its favor. The album is quite short, with 11 tracks loping by in 27 minutes. Each song, from the buzzy “Free Mason Jars” to the vaguely Western “Baroque Ninjas,” twists and turns unexpectedly with tempo changes, dynamic shifts and intricate layers of melodies and rhythms. There are also a few tracks that are little more than effects-laden sound clips.

While there are few melodies that are unforgettably catchy, the continued sway of the music gets under your skin. Halaska’s ability to go from ska grooving to hard metal shredding in the space of 10 seconds is pretty astounding. The horn intro on “Funk Hauser” is a mid-record energy pill. On the other end of the spectrum, “Space Yam” trades the usually manic efforts for a galactic, bass-driven piece that’s disarmingly lovely. The album finale, “Occupie Eating Contest,” underlies its tongue-in-cheek title with a soaring climax.

In Halaska, Austin has something that grabs ahold of the same irreverent, far-out worldview of The Butthole Surfers, Frank Zappa, Primus or another close-to-home group, Opposite Day. Like these groups, Halaska comes with stars in their eyes and chops at their fingers. I’m confident that one day, as Halaska hones its craft, the band will create a work on par with their influences. - Austin Music and Entertainment

Had Seb Rochford partaken in sessions for Battles’ Mirrored, you sense that the result may well have sounded somewhat akin to LATX, a new six-track from Austin’s Halaska. Loose time signatures are birthed by the fusing of demented squelches, fraught guitars and taut jazz impressions in what is a messily articulate progressive post-punk marvel. Stream/ download below to your skipping heart’s content: - Dots and Dashes