Lee Gallagher & The Hallelujah

Lee Gallagher & The Hallelujah

By Jake Tully

It’s not often that a roots band so triumphantly kicks off their debut that one feels as though they’ve encountered something instantaneously formidable. Luckily, the immediately powerful sound comes hand in glove with San Francisco based roots-rockers Lee Gallagher & The Hallelujah on their eponymous debut record. An exciting brew of Americana, psychedelia and gospel sensibilities, Lee Gallagher & The Hallelujah proffers an exciting response to the banality of “What do roots acts nowadays have to offer?” The answer: a hell of lot, buddy.

“We made it through the mountain pass/we didn’t do it alone/we were walking hand in hand/so Hallelujah” croons Lee Gallagher on the opening track of the record, setting up something much more breathtakingly complicated. What begins as a subdued offering quickly becomes a cosmic adrenaline rush reminiscent of Springsteen and The Band at their most vivacious.

The album carries on like cosmic sermon, with Gallagher preaching from a celestial pulpit. By the time “Gloryland” and “Shallow Grave” come around the homily is in full swing – and comes off sounding much more like a Zeppelin-stained act than The Louvin Brothers.

What is so impressive with the record is how much stamina the band possesses. From the get-go it’s clear that Gallagher and company aren’t losing steam any time soon, and the insane tenacity only seems to mount with every coming track. It’s nearly impossible to do anything but get steamrolled with every coming song, and this holds true many spins after the initial listen. The excitement seems to mount on the penultimate “Take Me Before You Go” only to utterly blindside one’s headsets with the blistering finale of “1935.” It’s a voyage, man.

The best part of Lee Gallagher’s untamable beast? It’s a truly strange record. This is meant in the absolute greatest way possible, folks. Why, nowhere else can one hear the synthesis of gospel, psychedelia, roots, Americana, folk, and rock in a crossroads that brings them altogether so perfectly. Not often do you find yourself listening to writhing vocals about God laid over snarling guitar and a piano that sounds about ready to bust open. Triumphant, is the correct label in this situation, and triumphant it surely is.

We seem to have unfairly forgotten just how capable roots bands are of kicking out the jams. Then again, it may be less a case of forgetfulness and more a case of the general listening population leery of investing in a band that brands itself authentically rather than pandering to the insipid L.C.D. What bullshit, eh?

Lee Gallagher ought to be wholeheartedly applauded on two fronts; one for producing a truly kickass record, the second for refusing to concede just how weird they are. It’s a humdinger.

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