Hallelujah the Hills

Emerging in the wake of Boston's the Stairs, whose run concluded at the close of 2005, Hallelujah the Hills took shape when lead singer and songwriter Ryan Walsh joined drummer Eric Meyer to launch the new project. The group took its name from Adolphus Mekas' 1963 cult comedy and began with an original roster that included Walsh and Meyer alongside David Bentley on cello and guitar, Joe Marrett on bass, and Matt Brown handling synth, samples, guitar, and melodica. Trumpeter Brian Rutledge came aboard several months afterward, while Elio DeLuca stepped in for Brown on keyboards in early 2007. Drawing from Guided by Voices' lo-fi power pop, the woozy marching band music of Neutral Milk Hotel, and the off-kilter warblings of David Byrne, the band's early performances earned praise from The Boston Phoenix and Salon.com. That same loose-knit approach is captured on the debut album, Collective Psychosis Begone, which Misra Records issued in June 2007.