Photo courtesy of Adam Parshall (from left: David Michael Curry, Ryan Connelly, Brian Rutledge, Joseph Marrett, Ryan H. Walsh, Nicholas Ward)

Back in 2005, Hallelujah The Hills played their first show at the Great Scott. And they haven’t stopped in their fifteen year run. 

“Everytime we [play there], I feel like Carl gives me the number… I would guess it’s under 50, but maybe hovering around 50.” 

Tonight, the band will mark the release of their newest record back where they made their live debut. I’m You, out last month, has generated a veritable buzz among both critics and longtime fans. But this show is serving double duty—sharing what might be one of their strongest albums to date, but also honoring that the core lineup is still coming together and exciting one another. 

“It’s kind of a celebration of sticking with it and remembering people that aren’t there and celebrating the people who are,” says founder Ryan Walsh. “We’re like a cult favorite. No one’s making any money. And we’re all still here! We do it because we are really fond of each other and we like being creative with each other and that’s great that it’s lasted this long.” 

I’m You is an anthemic collection that is simultaneously outward-looking and introspective—an exercise of honest appraisal in an effort to see the good in others in order to be kinder to yourself. The title track is as classic as it gets. Repeatedly saying “I’m You” to yourself becomes an almost meditative exercise in connection. “I was trying to think of the most helpful, positive thing I could say that hasn’t been said before and maybe didn’t make literal sense but would intuitively be comforting to people and ‘Don’t freak out. I’m you’ was it,” offers Walsh. “And I think the whole thing is self-aware. There’s certainly some autobiographical stuff in there, but me and the band worked hard to make sure it wasn’t a solipsistic diary kind of jerk-off thing. Because then we would have just finished it and went ‘Ok. I feel better, but this is for no one.’”

Writing this batch of songs came as Walsh was winding down from the hype and promotional responsibilities that came from the release of his first book. Astral Weeks: A Secret History of 1968 dove into the underappreciated and perhaps unknown stories of Boston’s scene a half century ago. From Van Morrison arriving to Cambridge and beginning what would become the  masterpiece that is Astral Weeks to The Lyman Family in Fort Hill straddling the line between “commune” and “cult,” there’s much weirdness our city has to offer. 

“The book changed things for me a little bit,” says Walsh. “Because… it was a narrative structure. It’s a pretty straightforward narrative told clearly. And when I finished that, and it was time to write more songs, I had the notion of like… having the intent more consciously known and still retain that mystery thing. The notion of which scared me, and sometimes when you’re scared or embarrassed to show your bandmates your new thing, that’s a really good time.”

Walsh insists that his bandmates are an essential part of what makes the band work—not just folks filling out the sound. “Those guys don’t get spoken about enough in any reviews, historically, about the band. Because they’re amazing! Without them… I’m not even confidently playing rhythm guitar and I’m ok at melodies and lyrics. And these guys are such a different group of people. It’s awesome. And it’s been steady for a few years now.”

The feeling is mutual. Bassist Joe Marrett recalls: “We thought we were cooking up something special, Walsh had a story to tell and we had some new flavors in the stew with [David Michael Curry] on viola and Nicholas [Ward] moving over to guitar.” 

“It sounds cheeseball, but these are some of my best friends and I very much have the band to thank for that,” Nicholas Ward adds. “I think Ryan Walsh is a genius and a genuine weirdo and this is the most honest he’s ever been on a Hills record. It seems to tie up a lot of threads that have been floating around for a few years.”

The troubling political situation in America was an influence as Walsh and “most of the people [he knows] have been in freak-out mode since the election.”

But a bitter loss came to the band when friend and mentor David Berman of Silver Jews/Purple Mountains fame passed. “We were rehearsing, playing the new album live in the practice space,” Walsh recalls, “And we get to the halfway mark and took a break and everyone’s phone started blowing up and that’s when we learned. So we were all together and I had a real breakdown. It was awful. I still can’t believe he’s gone. I think about it every day. And… it’s everyone’s loss.”

The band supported Silver Jews on a string of shows in 2009, and next month will be paying respects as part of a tribute show to Berman on what would have been his 53rd birthday next month at New York’s Union Pool.

But before assuming that the record is a pure, cathartic grasp at universal fellowship, consider Walsh’s bold, left field proclamations on “Folk Music Is Insane.” “The overall intent was a phrase that would reset the listener,” Walsh explains. “Maybe not free them from expectations, but skew their expectations. Because… that sentence is true, I think,” although he admits “it’s a weird thing to say.”

“The [inspiration] comes from my obsession with the Anthology of American Folk Music, that Harry Smith collection which I received as a Christmas gift in 1997. Because all of these contemporary artists I loved kept citing it or were excited about the re-release. So I really dove into it heavy. To me, it was weirder and crazier than, like, a downtown Manhattan avant-garde noise band,” Walsh reflects, “And they weren’t trying to be weird. These were ostensibly radio hits! So, it was a way to reset the listener and also honor that and, kind of, illuminate that expectations about genres do nothing good for us as listeners. Also,” Walsh laughs, “the cult I just wrote about was founded on and united by folk music.”

Hallelujah The Hills is band the best of Bostonians deserve. They’ve continued to grow but haven’t moved on as many bands have. Their love of New England in evident their music and lives. When asked about the geographical influence, Walsh muses:

“Well, there’s no arguing it. I’m just a product of New England. I’ve never moved away. I’ve written a book about the city. I’ve had a band in the city for fifteen years… Staying in one spot and keeping your eyes open. Maybe you can offer something because of that. And I love it.”

“You can make it from anywhere—in any city—these days with the internet,” he observes, “So we all know that, and it’s not so important, but it still might matter a little bit. Something I say about the book is ‘I couldn’t prove that Boston is any cooler than anyone thinks it is. But I can prove that it’s weirder than anyone thinks it is.’” 

There is a very weird sensibility here that if you live here and you make stuff, it’s gonna bubble out. Something [David] Berman said—‘New England: America’s Haunted Attic.’” Wash laughs before declaring: “I’m proud to live in ‘America’s Haunted Attic.’”

You, yes “YOU,” can join in the festivities at Hallelujah The Hills’ release show tonight, Thursday, December 19th at the Great Scott (18+) with support from Major Stars and Adam Schatz of Landlady. Tickets are $15 at the door.Listen to their new record, I’m You, below.