Welcome, welcome faithful readers to my humble music review. More specifically, welcome BACK! And to the freshmen who just so happen to view this article:

Hello! I am Connor (the guy on the school news who always wears a flannel, y’know… that one). I have a rather esoteric taste in music, and I like to review some relatively unknown music while still sprinkling in some of the more known albums. I mainly review indie/alternative/progressive music, but I am open to all different types of music. If you disagree with my opinion, please email me! I’d be happy to disregard your email!

Enough chit chat. Let’s dive into this album:

Hawaii: Part II – Miracle Music

Joe Hawley. You may have heard his name from many different places. If you have heard of him, it’s probably from early 2000s band Tally Hall. They did that “Ruler Of Everything” song. Self-described as “Fabloo,” Tally Hall was prominent in the indie rock scene in the 2000s-2010s, and going on an indefinite hiatus in 2011. Their popularity has recently resurfaced on apps like TikTok, and with these new listeners comes people wanting more. Although the band has stated that they will play a show again, there hasn’t been any news of a reformation any time soon as of now. However, many people searching for more Tally Hall have come across an album by the band “ミラクルミュージカル”, or “Miracle Musical” in English. They have only released one album (along with one single, entitled “Variations on a Cloud”), that album being the album I am discussing today. “Hawaii: Part II.” “Where is Part I?” you may ask, and to that I reply with your guess is as good as mine. I have no clue, and there have been a lot of theories as to why it starts with Part II, but I simply do not have an answer for you. I digress, the band is lead by Joe Hawley of  Tally Hall, along with his other members; Rob Cantor (who you may know from the “Shia LaBeouf Live” video), Zubin Sedghi, and Ross Federman. There is one other member of Tally Hall, Andrew Horowitz, however he does not make an appearance on this album as he was busy working on his own project, “Edu”.

If you have been active on Tik Tok, or really any social media, you may recognize a few songs from this album. For example, more recently the song “Sweet Dreams In Sea Major” has been really popular with the line:

“Alone… at the edge of a universe humming a tune”

and more popularly regarded as the “TikTok villain song”, or “Murders”:

“All… for nothing at all!”

People usually go “Ah, that band” whenever I show people those songs. Clearly it has had a pretty significant part in social media recently.

This album, musically, varies from song to song. There is usually a pretty electronic feel to it, but this album features instruments such as violins, cellos,

trumpets, and a harp. It has many different singers on it, such as Rob Cantor on “Time Machine”, Zubin Sedghi on “White Ball”, and other musicians, but most of the songs were sung by Joe Hawley. Lyrically though, this album is deep. I cannot, in one article, discuss every single meaning behind each song because every lyric matters. I suggest you to watch a video made on some of the lyrics to really get a good feel of what it means. This album is a concept album, one that tells a story. However, the album’s true meaning has never been disclosed. Some people have theorized that it is about the 9/11 attacks, some have theorized it is about a man who gets framed for killing his lover, and some people theorized that this album is about God. Personally, I feel as if it is the second one, the one about a guy being framed. Their single, Variations on a Cloud, is most certainly about 9/11 though, as the music video shows. I suggest you analyze the lyrics for yourself, and craft your own theory.

Ratings

Vocals: 8/10

Joe Hawley has a unique voice, but boy can he sing! Songs like “The Mind Electric”, where his voice is modulated is just fantastic, and I could ramble about it for hours. Songs like “Stranded Lullaby” have vocals so soft it could make you cry. The guest vocalists on this album are also really talented.

Piano: 7/10

I normally would have a “Guitar” section here, but the guitar on this album is few and far between. So I replaced it with piano. If you think that this is an unfair and inconsistent way of reviewing albums, sue me (my lawyer recommends I state that this is a joke). But in all seriousness, the piano on this album is really fantastic.

Bass: 8/10

Bass, as on every Tally Hall adjacent album, is fantastic.

Drums: 9/10

Some really complex beats, both acoustic and electronic, by Ross Federman on this album. Especially in “Isle Unto Thyself”.

Lyrics: 10/10

This album, as per earlier in this article, is deep. That’s right! It’s “deep in italics” deep! There are even lyrics in other languages. For example, “宇宙ステーションのレベル7” (Translated “Space Station Level 7”) is in, you guessed it, French! (and Japanese).

Uniqueness: 9/10

The songs on this album are very different from each other, and always immediately recognizable.

Overall Score: 8/10

This album is just incredible in so many different ways, and the album as a whole is so underrated. Please do me a favor and give it a listen.

By the way, you can request albums for me to review. If you have an album for me to review, just leave the name of it in the comments and I will write a review.