Laid back and dreamy, guitar-driven with vocals which transport us back to the 60s, but with a gospel-edge, Allelujah’s track ‘Chariots On Fire’ is accompanied by a super-psych video, which at the same time both confuses and entrances us.
From their album, ‘The Life And Death Of Capt. Nathan Barker’, which was inspired by a scrapbook of photos of an American Civil War veteran – ‘Chariots On Fire’ is one of ten songs which trace Captain Baker’s emotional and spiritual development.
It’s an ambitious challenge, but Allelujah are certainly up to it, with their music drawing on guitar rock and avant-garde, American folk, and gospel. ‘Chariots On Fire’ is six minutes of piano, brass, organ, six strings, and evocative storytelling.
Singer songwriter Andy Byers and multi-instrumentalist Lucas Oswald had prior to forming Allelujah, played together in the experimental noise pop band, Minus Story. Byers moved to LA and rediscovered his love for songwriting, and traded ideas with Oswald. It was during a week long writing session that the pair outlined the basic concept for Allelujah’s ‘The Death And Life Of Capt. Nathan Baker’. Byers also worked in the film industry, collaborating with Isabella Rossellini on her ‘Green Porno’ series on the mating rituals of insects. Some of the props from this turn up in the accompanying video for ‘Chariots On Fire’; which also features startling paper art, creepy cross legged mannequins, gold bars, and a mysterious altar. You can watch the video below:
Find out more about Allelujah here. You can download, stream and buy on vinyl ‘The Death And Life Of Capt. Nathan Baker’ from Bandcamp.
