THE HALAMAYS – EP REVIEW

The Halamays – EP2 
The Halamays - EP2


Release Date: Out Now

Columbus, Ohio duo the Halamays are back with the imaginatively titled ‘EP 2’ as the follow up to their previous offering back in 2013 and it’s about time too. Katie and Patrick Watkins, for they are the married couple that comprises the Halamays, open this offering with ‘I Don’t Care (Anymore)’ and it’s a gloriously lo-fi slice of garage pop that is part Raincoats, part Lovely Eggs and a little bit Bis if they’d been American. ‘Home’ embraces that lo-fi spirit again with basic beats, twitchy guitars and some quirky synth notes that, if I don’t know better, I would suggest where borne in Japan rather than Ohio. On ‘Hold Me Now’ the duo channels the likes of Dubstar and St Etienne before a clattering of atmospheric and dark guitars crash in with all the intent of a headliner at the Bang Bang Club in Twin Peaks.

‘Smudge’ has a slow, deliberate pace to it and Katie’s soft, fragile vocals bounces gently off the pitter-patter of synth notes that drop like sugar filled rain drops. This is the perfect song to soundtrack a heartbreak scene in some bleak, dystopian suburbia of the future as all hope seems lost before our heroine gets the gumption to change their own destiny. Finally, ‘Your Resting Place’ closes things out with a child-like quality that is both appealing and eerie, especially when the song disappears in a squall of guitar feedback at the end. I don’t know what ambitions the Halamays have but there is definitely a sense of care and thought to these tunes that would work well in film or TV if they could only get in to the ears of the right producers. Sumptuous stuff.  


Listen/Download Here: https://thehalamays.bandcamp.com/

Live Dates:

3rd November – The Tree Bar, Columbus

3rd December – Rumba Bar, Columbus

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