I know next to nothing about Lee Gallagher and/or The Hallelujah, except for Mojohand posting about this album on Instagram the other day. Because of their post, I figured I’d give this one a listen. On Lee Gallagher and The Hallelujah’s Bandcamp page, you can find that they’re from San Francisco and are some sort of psychedelic rock band. I do know that this group has been written about by Relix magazine, and was listed as “one of 5 artists you should know about”, according to the band’s personal website. I’m pretty excited to hear what this album has to offer, and with that said I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Highway 10” has a really warm, full sound at the very beginning, which has me immediately intrigued. The vocals have some great texture to them that really make the song feel very authentic. The song has a wonderful way of propelling itself forward between the bass, the drums, and the piano. The electric guitar has some super sweet twanginess to it, while the acoustic guitar jangles at the sides of the soundscape. Oh wow, this piano and electric guitar jam part is super tasty. I’m very stoked to be listening to this album right now, and am very much looking forward to the rest of it. Absolutely excellent song.
“Breakin’ Up” has a sort of Texas saloon at dusk sound to it at the beginning. The gentle plucking of the acoustic guitar or possibly a mandolin (?), is absolutely lovely. Oh wow, the sliding acoustic guitar is pretty sweet. Wait, I take that back – it’s absolutely awesome. Wow, this song is awesome. The bass is so smooth – wow. Holy smokes, the way the twang of the sliding acoustic and the swirl of the organ mesh together makes a sound that I don’t know if I’ve ever heard in a song before, and it’s absolutely awesome.
“Goodnight Sweet Maria” has a feel that’s a little “tough” with the deeper notes with greater distortion. With that said, the organs and vocals give this one a musical heart of gold that shimmer in the presence of the gruff distortion of the electric guitar. The bass line is pretty sweet, and definitely makes the rest of the instrumentation swarm around me as I listen in on it. Holy smokes, a super fuzzy electric guitar comes in with some sort of “Stairway To Heaven” vibe. Wow, this song is awesome. The end of this song feels like an orchestral rock masterpiece – everything coming together in a very deliberately planned way. Awesome song.
“Lullaby for the Acid Queen” has a very mellow feeling compared to the end of the previous track, and certainly feels like a great cosmic ballad of sorts. I’m really digging this one. There’s undoubtedly a sort of holy gospel-like feeling to the sound, while still having a folksy country rock feel, which feels tied together with laces of psychedelia. Wow, the vocals hit some incredibly soulful notes. Add in the harmonica and that absolutely wonderful guitar solo with the piano, and what you’re left with is an absolutely amazing song.
“Feed Your Flame” has a very slow, building intro that sort of has an almost 80s synth like feel at the very beginning, until the folksy rootsy acoustic guitar comes in, painting a picture of one on a lifelong mission of sorts. Wow, the acoustic guitar carries such weight with what’s being played. The piano comes in with some delicious notes. This is honestly an album I’d really like to own on vinyl. In fact, I’ll probably purchase it off the band’s bandcamp before the end of the night. There’s a very wonderful campfire under a starry night sort of vibe in this wonderful song.
Oh wow, “Astral Plane Blues” absolutely screeches out some bluesy notes at the beginning with what I think was the electric guitar, though it could have been an electric harmonica, honestly. Wow, the electric guitar sort of swishes around the soundscape with the distortion, and gets further lifted by the organs underneath. Wow, the playing on this one is absolutely awesome. Holy smokes, the harmonica is insane. I’m honestly reminded a lot of both Led Zeppelin and Neil Young in terms of the orchestration and sound from the songs, though this is wonderfully original.
“California Divide” has an awesome southern classic rock vibe to it immediately. I can already tell I’m going to send this album particular album to a few different people to check out. This song has some incredible songwriting in it. Holy smokes, the distortion from the electric guitar solo felt like the peak of a hill on a massive rock and roll roller coaster, yet somehow it’s still going upwards with the incredible jam from the organs, the keyboards, and the bass.
“County Line” has a great singer/songwriter sort of feel to it in the intro. Wow, the unexpected tempo from the electric guitar really has a great feeling to it, which only makes me listen closer to it. Certain instruments picks up and drops out at different moments of the song, moving between a slow, nearly soft rock feel, to a bluesier southern rock feel to it. Wow, the way that guitar really hollers makes me think quite a bit of Nils Lofgren and Grin. Wow, great song.
“Gone Today” has a super great flavor to the electric guitar at the very beginning. Then the mandolin and piano come in with some dream-like flavor, creating vague feelings of psychedelia, disguised as a wonderful bluesy cosmic southern rock. Holy smokes, the distortion on the keyboard solo is awesome. The little accentuation from the mandolin is awesome. Wow, listening in on the bass guitar is incredible – there are movements I barely noticed, yet have an absolutely awesome wow-factor to them. This crescendo at the end of the song is incredible. Wow, this album is awesome.
“Rollin’ Out” starts out with a bit of a looser feeling, almost easing you out of the album as the music nears the end. I’m nearly in disbelief that I’m already on the last track – each song is filled with so much awesome music – truly a sweet record. The little accentuations from the organ in this track really add some great flavor that lifts the dreamy soundscape to different levels. Oh wow, this sort of droning fuzzed out guitar is absolutely lovely. Wow, this one is simply wonderful. The vocals take on the dreamy vibe from the soundscape and almost seem like they peer through from a different world. The song ends with just the drums playing for a moment, which feels like an incredibly natural and simple way to end this epic album.
Wow, I am incredibly stoked to have listened to this one tonight. If you like folk rock, country rock, psychedelic rock, blues rock, classic rock, southern rock, or any combination of any of these, I would say you’ll probably get a good amount of enjoyment out of this one. The music is absolutely wonderful, and only further reinforces my belief that the future of music is incredibly promising. If you do decide to give this one a listen, I do sincerely hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A