Thursday, October 23, 2008

If You Make It demos, part three: Halo Fauna

I didn't think that I knew Halo Fauna until the other shoe dropped and I realized that Dave Bierling had been out on tour with them this summer. Checking out their tour dates, it would appear that this Buffalo/Brooklyn collective hasn't stopped since then. As of today, they appear to be keeping up with the kids in Lemuria and are out on the road until December, with stops at The Fest and a big ass loop West and back after that. Here's hoping they hold up, as the five songs here are pretty damn great. Evidently this is a precursor to their current record on Plan-It- X, but don't think it's going to get all twee up in this mofo. They seem to be pretty DIY, and judging by the spate of touring, either are doing pretty well or driving the old Potboiler van that ran on vegetable oil. The current tour is the seventh incarnation of the Gadabout Film Fest partnered with the Just Seeds travelling art tour, so perhaps the Plan-It-X bus is transporting the kids.

If I was going to have to go to an travelling indie film festival, I think I'd want to be able to see Halo Fauna. They number anywhere from one to four-pieces and play their trade in a folky punk that sounds a lot like early Built To Spill. Scenescence is only five tunes, but they picked a good batch to represent them. New Paltz Summer is a quality track that deserves to be cranked in a car in that aforementioned time, capturing an optimistic ennui in a few short minutes without overstaying it's welcome. That aesthetic extends to the entire demo. The five songs pass far too quickly for this asshole. Looks like I'll be picking up the new one. In the meantime, download Scenescence here from If You Make It and leave a damn donation. You can get the new record Durak from the band here.

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