Hal.

micromegas

Anyone like them? I really hope they play some shows in Dublin next year.

Ruskie4Rent

Bloody hate 'em. No offence. I don't like the whole retro band thing, like the Thrills or any of that craic. Soon we're gonna have some band dressed in all 80's get uup.

Andy-Pandy

Ruskie4Rent wrote:

Bloody hate 'em. No offence. I don't like the whole retro band thing, like the Thrills or any of that craic. Soon we're gonna have some band dressed in all 80's get uup.

In fairness they are'nt in the same league of bland non-offensive ****e that the thrills are. I dont mind them, there on my ipod.

Hal1

Often seen their posters on billboards and wondered who they fu*k are these guys

elduggo

Hal are fantastic. Caught them in the Sugar club in June and they were amazing. Pop tunes played as they should be. I agree, I missed their Ambassador show and I really hope they come back for more shows in the new year.

ThatBloke

I like them but can't stand The Thrills. I can't work out why that is.

micromegas

ThatBloke wrote:

I like them but can't stand The Thrills. I can't work out why that is.

I can tolerate The Thrills in small portions. I really didn't like them at first, but it grew on me. My main thing is the vocalist... his voice is just annoying,

WetDaddy

Hmmm... Seems to be a lot of members with very low post counts touting Hal here... *raises one eyebrow*

I think the reason a lot of people don't like Hal is because they seemed to come out of nowhere. All of a sudden they're charging €16 (or whatever) into gigs in The Village. That tends to get on people's nerves because, as a Dublin band, they didn't seem to do the "hard graft" of gigs around town, etc.

Now, having said that, I don't particularly have anything against Hal myself. I heard that single that was on the radio a few months back. It wasn't bad, nicely arranged, catchy. But they still need to prove themselves a bit, I feel. They're name seems to be a lot bigger than anything they've done; would like to see them do a bunch of local gigs, hear people's opinions, reviews, etc. Y'know, have a buzz created by fans, not by the record company and posters and radio ads.

Yep, that's my 2c.

micromegas

deathfunk wrote:

Hmmm... Seems to be a lot of members with very low post counts touting Hal here... *raises one eyebrow*

I think the reason a lot of people don't like Hal is because they seemed to come out of nowhere. All of a sudden they're charging €16 (or whatever) into gigs in The Village. That tends to get on people's nerves because, as a Dublin band, they didn't seem to do the "hard graft" of gigs around town, etc.

Now, having said that, I don't particularly have anything against Hal myself. I heard that single that was on the radio a few months back. It wasn't bad, nicely arranged, catchy. But they still need to prove themselves a bit, I feel. They're name seems to be a lot bigger than anything they've done; would like to see them do a bunch of local gigs, hear people's opinions, reviews, etc. Y'know, have a buzz created by fans, not by the record company and posters and radio ads.

Yep, that's my 2c.

If its any consoloation, Hal haven't 'struck it big' here in the US. I only heard about them by doing my own investigative work.

WetDaddy

I'm not really looking for a consolation (after all, it's not as though I want them to do bad!). It just seems that everyone knows the name, but no one really knows anything about them. Can't remember the last time I saw an gig of theirs advertised, or a show reviewed or anything. And they've been "going" for quite some time now, as far as I know.

ThatBloke

Many of the better Irish bands tend to be picked up by record labels early on after a few gigs so they don't play that many gigs in the bigger venues that's why they seem to come from nowhere.

radioman

Hal got snapped up on the back of The Thrills success, their first album had a couple of half decent tunes on it alright, nothing spectacular though

Oh and they're neither alternative or indie so this topic might have been better off posted elsewhere

ThatBloke

Weren't they already signed up before The Thrills came out? I'm pretty sure they were.

radioman

radioman wrote:

Oh and they're neither alternative or indie so this topic might have been better off posted elsewhere

They're on Rough Trade...

comet

deathfunk wrote:

I think the reason a lot of people don't like Hal is because they seemed to come out of nowhere. All of a sudden they're charging €16 (or whatever) into gigs in The Village.

They hardly came out of nowhere, they were playing the Sugar Club many times before they were signed, Tom Dunne was playing an early demo of Worry About the Wind back in early 2004. They did an Irish tour June 2004. They did a joint headline tour of the UK with the Magic Numbers early 2005. Magic Numbers have since gone on to bigger fame. Hal released their debut album to great critical acclaim then stepped up to play bigger venues village, ambassador.

radioman

Deleted User wrote:

They're on Rough Trade...

Maybe I'm confusing things, I always thought indie/alternative applied to the type of music played, not the record company, and as label founder Geoff Travis said, Rough Trade don't have a label ethos, i.e. they'll release any type of music once it's great music.

radioman

ThatBloke wrote:

Weren't they already signed up before The Thrills came out? I'm pretty sure they were.

No. The Thrills signed their current record deal in 2002. Hal didn't even form until 2003

elduggo

all bow to the man with 459 posts!!

why the hell should every band sweat blood to get noticed? If you're good enough to get noticed with having to do that, great. I heard that Hal had interest from several labels, heard several of them out, then picked what they felt was best for them.

And I'm all the more confused by that post from the lad with the *real* high post count. Hal are still relatively unknown. People with their ear to the ground will have heard of them. Your average 'Joe Punter' will not. They have a bit more grafting to do before they get the interest they deserve.

What they bring is refreshing. It may not be that unique or ground-breaking but it is refreshing, and they are damn good at it. So more power to them, and I hope they get huge.

ThatBloke

radioman wrote:

Maybe I'm confusing things, I always thought indie/alternative applied to the type of music played, not the record company, and as label founder Geoff Travis said, Rough Trade don't have a label ethos, i.e. they'll release any type of music once it's great music.

Indie comes from independent label.

WetDaddy

elduggo wrote:

all bow to the man with 459 posts!!

I think you misunderstood me, dude. What I meant was that sometimes when someone with a low post count starts a thread with a certain opinion and two or three other people with low post counts reply with the same opinion, it very often appears to be a bit dodgy. i.e. One person starting up a few accounts to give the appearance of similiar opinions.

Nothing to do with whatever my post count is! And my apologies if I'm wrong. I wasn't accusing anyone of anything, just bringing the point to people's attention, that's all.

why the hell should every band sweat blood to get noticed? If you're good enough to get noticed with having to do that, great. I heard that Hal had interest from several labels, heard several of them out, then picked what they felt was best for them.

Totally agree with you here. More power to the band who has a few labels approaching them, no matter how much work they've done. Mind you, quite often if one label gets interested, the others rapidly follow suit. But still, getting *any* label interested is good news!

And I'm all the more confused by that post from the lad with the *real* high post count. Hal are still relatively unknown. People with their ear to the ground will have heard of them. Your average 'Joe Punter' will not. They have a bit more grafting to do before they get the interest they deserve.

Well, you're right in that the average Joe Punter won't have heard of them and admittedly, I would keep a closer eye on the scene then they would. But I never said I'd a problem with that myself, but rather that that is how lots of *other* people seem to feel.

All in all, it's nice to see local bands doing well, so I hope they become successful.

WetDaddy

Oh, and for the record, Hal are a lot better than The Thrills, in my opinion!

elduggo

fair enough deathfunk. Apologies if I seemed a bit agressive.

We're a nation of begrudgers at the best of time and that galls me. I mistook what you were saying for something along those lines.

WetDaddy

No problem elduggo, I know exactly what you mean cos it really gets to me too. To be honest, I think Dubliners are probably the worst for it... And I'm one myself!

radioman

ThatBloke wrote:

Indie comes from independent label.

In theory yes, but there are quite a few commercial pop artists who, strangely enough, are not signed to one of the huge record companies. The likes of Steps, Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley (who were both on Pete Waterman's independent label) and Cliff Richard would all be 'indie' artists if this interpretation were to be adhered to.

I don't want to come across as being pedantic on this but when people talk of indie music in general, it's more the style of music they mean.

I would categorise Hal as retro-pop, just my opinion