Some albums can be reviewed after listening to only a few songs. Each song tells the same story or they all sound the same, but for The Halem Albright Band’s album, Blue Moon Confessions, this could not be further from the truth. Each song could be from a different album or era, or even a different artist, yet they all come together somehow, to form a classic, yet brand new sound. The opening track begins with a drum riff that sounds like a traditional rock song, but the album quickly revolutionizes past this idea, and by the third track, even lyrics are abandoned. Group lead, Halem Albright is not afraid to experiment with the transcendence of genre. He has worked with many great musicians in multiple different bands over the years, but it is Spencer Pope on the keyboard, Dustin Fennell on base, Nathan Bartlett on the drums, and John McCoy on percussion and vocals that have come together with him to form the beautiful collaboration of sounds that is The Halem Albright Band.
https://open.spotify.com/album/1w43fDeArRpzoRZ9eRzGD0
Blue Moon Confessions takes the listener on a trip around different combinations of instruments, as well as a trip around their own mind. It takes notes from artists like Pink Floyd, in the echoing sound that puts one in a trance as if they are experiencing a psychedelic drug, as well as the haunting feeling of restlessness and questioning. It looks both outward to the world in a skeptical and pessimistic way, as well as having introspective songs that offer deep thought and wonder. One song could be considered funk, another could be jazz, some could be rock, and then the penultimate track, “God,” comes back to the folk genre. It is one of the few albums that truly cannot be bound to a genre. Even the experimental greats of music do not expand their horizons as much as this album. Some do not even cover as wide of a spectrum over their entire careers, much less over the course of a single album that spans thirteen songs and fifty-three minutes.
In what could easily be a messy, convoluted jumble of sounds, The Halem Albright Band manages to combine the far reaches of the music world into one album that has appeal to Generation Alpha as much as it would for the Baby Boomers and anyone in between. It is a thought provoking piece of art that uses different methods to get its words across, sometimes even abandoning words altogether to let the listener absorb every bit of music they can.
Written by Logan Duffett