- 2024-12-26
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MUSIC
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half•alive Releases New Album “Persona”
Long Beach-based alt-pop trio half·alive, consisting of Josh Taylor (vocals/guitar), Brett Kramer (drums) and J. Tyler Johnson (bass), released their third studio album “Persona” on November 15, 2024.
This marks their first LP in two years since the 2022 album “Conditions of a Punk”.
The album comprises 11 songs, featuring guest appearances from American singer-songwriter Kacy Hill and American bedroom pop singer-songwriter Jordana, produced by half•alive and Tommy King.
The band lead singer Josh Taylor said of the album. “When starting the writing process for this album, we intentionally kept things broad, painting with a wide brush. Aan idea emerged that we kept throughout the entire record- to boil every song down to its most essential elements.”
He continued, “Persona has allowed us to lean into big choices while also learning a valuable lesson in editing. Anything that didn't contribute to telling a story was left on the cutting room floor and we couldn't be more proud of this album. It is truly the best version of half•alive and we're so happy these songs are now yours.”- half•alive embarks on Persona World Tour in the US, Canada, the UK and Europe. The tour kicks off at House of Blues San Diego in San Diego on March 28, 2025 and will concluded at The Princess Theatre in Brisbane, QLD on June 22, 2025.
Learn more about tour dates, here.
Josh Taylor said, “I get warm, soothing chills down my spine when I'm around people singing in harmony. Whenever it happens I can almost see the voices twisting together, and molding into one beautiful thing lighting up the room. I think that's why so many people are drawn to concerts. Whether you're singing along with the band or just listening, there's a certain magic in the room that gets shared by everyone there. We're looking forward to feeling that at the shows next year. The high intensity, the introspection, the swaying, the absorbing and participating- it's all creating a harmony.” -
half•alive explained about some tracks for the album.
“Sophie's House”
“Lyrically the song explores the years of life that feel the most free- under your parent's roof, summer break from high school.. autonomy before any real responsibility kicks in. It's in that time that we don't recognize how much freedom there is until it's gone and we're reflecting on it; as written in the lyric 'wish that I could see I'm having the time of my life when I'm having the time of my life'. While the song doesn't just bask in nostalgia, it begs the question: Can you turn nostalgia of the past into a wonder for the present?”
“Automatic”
“We had a lot of expressive songs on the record, but nothing angry. An angry song is a bit challenging for us actually. We can write songs you can dance or nod your head to all day, but a song where you can thrash around or run fast to is different. A song worth being loud about comes from somewhere deep inside the gut, from looking at some ugly part of human nature and screaming at it- in this case it's an ache for a healthy world and a call for accountability in how we are hurting it. 'watch the world burn, kiss it away, notice your heart, breaking like waves... everybody's talking bout it, still you keep your head down, lose yourself in the static, blame it on each other'”.
“All My Love (Imperative)”
“A consistent state of busyness is normal in a city like Los Angeles. We don't know how to rest. We don't know how to differentiate what we do from who we are. We are all guilty of responding to the simple 'how are you?' with a knee jerk 'I'm good, I'm really busy' to try and attach our degree of hustle to our self worth. 'All My Love' is poking at the idea that worth is downstream from work.”
“Songs” featuring Jordana
“'Songs' is our attempt to put that feeling in a bottle. Whether you’re singing along with the band or just listening, it all creates harmony. Lyrics like ‘Let it be infinite while it lasts’ let us see the eternal leaking into the present. We knew that the election would be happening the week we released this song. no matter the results, the sociopolitical climate was & still is extremely divisive, so a song about harmony seemed only fitting.” - source : Apple Music
