Ken's Best of 2025 - #1: Hallelujah the Hills - DECK

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When Hallelujah the Hills announced their DECK project, I had high but reasonable expectations. When an artist releases a double album, the majority of the time it's going to include a lot of filler. Think of your favorite double albums, and there's most likely a handful of songs that could have easily been left off. 2025 saw a lot of established artists releasing double or triple albums, to varying degrees of success. Hallelujah the Hills ended up releasing a quadruple album of fifty-two songs, one for every card in a deck. It's a very ambitious release, but it's obviously going to be at least half filler, right?

Hallelujah the Hills ended up nailing it. Fifty-two songs without a single filler song. The correct order to listen to the albums is DIAMONDS, CLUBS, HEARTS, and SPADES is the correct order, although I'll admit to not listening to every album every time. I possibly listened to CLUBS the most, and HEARTS the least, but that's only because you have to be in the correct mood for HEARTS. That leads me to one of my favorite things about DECK. While all four albums work together, each one has distinct moods and vibes to them. It feels like there's a distinct story arc with the entire project. (I personally have two theories about the story behind, but I don't want to publically be wrong or influence anyone's DECK experience.)

Plus, the guest stars throughout DECK are some of our favorites, with Lydia Loveless, Ezra Furman, Tanya Donelly, Craig Finn, Clint Conley, and many more all assisting with the album. 

My highest hopes with DECK was that twenty-six songs would be good, maybe thirteen more would be good, and the rest would be just there to pad out the fifty-two required. Instead, the entire project is great, and Hallelujah the Hills have blown away anyone's expectations with their latest release.

Songs of note: "Joke's on You," "Rebuilding Year," "Alone, In Love," "Here Goes Nothing," "Camouflage Band-Aid," "FugaziBlackHoleMirage," "Some Rest for the Wicked," and 'It's Undeniable"

On Repeat...

Minibeast - "High Sea"

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Somehow Peter Prescott of Mission of Burma and Volcano Suns has another band that I never knew about. Minibeast already released an album that I completely missed back in 2012, and they are currently at work on the follow up, Free Will. Based on a track from the upcoming album, "High Sea," Minibeast shares some common sonic ground with Mission of Burma, but with an added emphasis on the groovy side of things. It's basically the noise and dissonance of Burma but heard through a 60s surf groove, as if Frankie and Annette were punks. You can listen to "High Sea" below. Minibeast currently have a Kickstarter to help fund the final production of Free Will. You can get more information on that here . It should be out sometime in June.
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Monday Mix: Newport Folk Festival 2014 Must See Bands

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With this weekend's upcoming Newport Folk Festival, we thought we'd highlight some of this year's can't miss acts. We're focusing on the bands playing smaller stages and earlier in the day. I mean, you're obviously going to see Ryan Adams and Jack White. Instead, these are the acts worth getting there early for, and seeking out the smaller stages. Phox Friday, 1:50, Quad Stage Phox hails from Baraboo, WI, the winter home of the Ringling Brothers' Circus. I'm not sure if that is connected to their music or not, but Phox has an otherworldly charm and a magical feel. They come across as a more grounded St. Vincent or a less intense version of early Tori Amos. Their music is simply beautiful and uplifting.  Reignwolf Friday, 2:55, Quad Stage Truly pushing the boundaries of what can be considered "folk" are Reignwolf. Reignwolf is Jordan Cook, who sounds like a mixture of The Black Keys and Queens of the Stone Age, mixed with just a lit...
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There's a new Limp Bizkit video, because sure, why not?

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Earlier this week I was expressing sympathy for Limp Bizkit. Limp Bizkit just don't seem to be riding that surge of 90s nostalgia that all sorts of other terrible bands from that era are. Sure, they're terrible. But are they really  that much worse than Filter, Alien Ant Farm, and other bands on those 90s nostalgia packages. And then this video is released. The first lyrics to the song are literally "Go fuck yourself." It then features Fred Durst sitting on a toilet, bikini clad chicks pretending to fellate garden hoses and leaf blowers, and Fred Durst talking about fucking bitches, all while wearing a hoodie and a backwards red baseball hat. Then Lil Wayne comes out. Please keep in mind Fred Durst is a 42 year old man.
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