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Hal - I Sat Down (Rough Trade)
UK release date: 15 August 2005
Hal - I Sat Down

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For Hal, the transition from expectant, little known underground outfit to being the band whose name is on the twitchy lips of the masses is proving to be a significantly rockier road than they might have hoped. Something of a surprise considering they're following the same road that led The Thrills to glory... maybe Hal can't drive?

I Sat Down is Hal's fourth single from the self titled debut, and again, just as with the previous singles, it's designed to be chilled out pop for lazy summer afternoons. Fine. But in reality it deviates from this brief, the end result inciting frustration and disappointment that Hal consistently neglect to do things the easy way - if they did, they'd have something to barter with.

Now if you're an uber-band a la Radiohead, or Muse, you can pull off doing things the hard way, but Hal are boxing way above their weight, and in trying to make their songs clever and original, end up ruining what would have been very nice had it just been left alone. A shame.






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