The Inevitability of a Strange World

Infobox Album | Name = The Inevitability of a Strange World
Type = Album
Artist = Halifax


Background = Orange
Released = May 23 2006
Recorded = Carriage House Studios (Stamford, Connecticut), The Machine Shop (Weehawken, New Jersey)
Genre = Rock
Pop punk
Length = 49:24
Label = Drive-Thru
Producer = Lou Giordano, Machine
Reviews = *AbsolutePunk.net (81%) [http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=137652 link]
*Allmusic (3.5/5) [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:i9r9kectgq7n link]
Last album = "A Writer's Reference" EP
(2004)
This album = "The Inevitability of a Strange World"
(2006)
Next album =
Misc = Singles
Name = nowrap|The Inevitability of a Strange World
Type = studio
Single 1 = "Our Revolution"
Single 1 date =
Single 2 =

"The Inevitability of a Strange World" is Halifax's third release, issued on May 23 2006 by Drive-Thru Records. The album has sold 34,795 copies as of October 2006, peaking at #130 on the Billboard 200 and at #1 on "Billboard's" Top Heatseekers chart. [cite web|url=http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=176730|title=Soundscan Results: October 1st, 2006|work=Absolutepunk.net|accessdate=October 5|accessyear=2006] [cite web|url=http://absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=140768|title=Halifax Chart Position|work=Absolutepunk.net|accessdate=June 3|accessyear=2006] Its first single (and only as of January 2008) was "Our Revolution".

Produced by Lou Giordano, the album was originally planned to be released on August 9 2005, but Drive-Thru Records asked the band to record four more songs with record producer Machine ("Our Revolution", "Hey Italy", "Such a Terrible Trend", and "I Told You So"). The release was then rescheduled for February 14 2006, but delayed again for distribution issues. On February 7 2006, however, a three-song sampler containing "Nightmare", "Under Fire", and "Anthem for Tonight" was made available for online purchase and at the band's concerts. [cite web|url=http://www.drivethrurecords.com/news/displaynews.asp?News=1150|title=Halifax CD Preview and Tour|work=Drive-Thru Records|accessdate=May 22|accessyear=2006]

Bassist Doug Peyton joined Halifax in-between the two recording sessions, hence singer Mike Hunau played bass on the Giordano-produced tracks. [cite web|url=http://www.europunk.net/interviews.php?id=167|title=Interview With Halifax|work=Europunk.net|accessdate=June 8|accessyear=2006] Guest musicians on the CD include guitarist Paul Nelson (performing a solo on "Anthem for Tonight" [cite web|url=http://www.paulnelsonguitar.com/halifax.htm|title=Paul Nelson - Guest Spot|accessdate=July 7|accessyear=2006] ) and Tourmaline's keyboardist Corey Zaloom.

The Japanese version of the album, released on May 17 2006 through In-n-Out Records, features a bonus track titled "Obsession". The song first appeared as "Because Pillows Are for Sleeping" in an interview with video podcasting group DMZ on December 10 2005. [cite web|url=http://mefeedia.com/feeds/7354/|title=mefeedia videoblogging directory: DMZ|accessdate=July 7|accessyear=2006]

The album is named after a book Bob Sala was supposedly writing, in Hunter S. Thompson's novel 'The Rum Diary'.

The album's cover and inlay artwork bears resemblance to that of Finch's "Say Hello to Sunshine" (2005), as both were created by Californian illustrator Jeff Soto.

Track listing

(all songs written by Halifax)
# "Nightmare" – 3:52
# "Our Revolution" – 3:08
# "Under Fire" – 3:02
# "Anthem for Tonight" – 3:44
# "Hey Italy" – 3:14
# "Snow in Hollywood" – 3:47
# "Such a Terrible Trend" – 4:14
# "Better Than Sex" – 3:48
# "Giant in the Ring" – 3:51
# "Promise Me Tragedy" – 3:15
# "A Tint of Rain" – 4:04
# "I Told You So" – 3:29
# "Murder I Wrote" – 5:50
# "Obsession" – 3:41 (Japanese bonus track)

Credits

* Chris Brandt – guitar
* Adam Charles – guitar
* Thomas Guindon – drums
* Michael J. Hunau – vocals, bass
* Jonothan Wesley Jones – piano, keyboards
* Paul Nelson – guitar
* Doug Peyton – bass
* Corey Zaloom – keyboards

References