''Detrola'' is an album by
His Name Is Alive
His Name Is Alive is an American experimental rock band/project from Livonia, Michigan. After several self-released cassettes, they debuted on 4AD Records in 1990, starting a long run at the label. Throughout the band's long history, leader Warre ...
, released in 2006. Four years after being dropped from the
4AD roster, HNIA released this album on their own Silver Mountain Media Group label (with major-label distribution from
Sony-BMG
Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout ...
). While many of the band's longtime fans (and 4AD devotees) had been disappointed with the group's final two albums for 4AD, fan reception to ''Detrola'' was quite positive, with many observing that it was finally a proper follow-up to 1998's 4AD release
Ft. Lake.
Despite no longer being signed to 4AD, the record went a long way towards gaining back their fans from that era, while introducing the group to a new set of fans; the record was a considerable hit on modern rock radio and college rock charts. While long-time vocalist
Karin Oliver does not appear on the album, having left the group in 1998, the majority of the vocals are handled by Oliver's cousin Andrea (stage name
Andy FM), whose vocal style is quite similar to that of Oliver, and Erika Hoffman, who had been contributing vocals since 1996's
Stars on ESP.
Lovetta Pippen, the sole vocalist for the final two 4AD albums, also appears as a background singer on "I Thought I Saw" and sings lead on "Seven Minutes." These factors gave the album a feel closer to their classic 4AD releases. In particular, many reviewers commented that "Your Bones" sounds like a track from the band's earliest albums on 4AD, and "You Need a Heart to Live" was a re-recorded version of a rare track from the band's 4AD era.
The album made many "best-of-lists" for 2006, including that of
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
, as noted o
the band's website
In 2007, an instrumental version of the album was released on the
iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
.
Track listing
It has long been a tradition for HNIA to list two different titles for songs on the album sleeve, although the secondary title was usually a shortened version of the song's full title. The alternate song titles on ''Detrola'' (listed below in parentheses) were somewhat different, sometimes differing completely from the proper title. Initial promo releases of the album listed the songs by their alternate titles, and the final release provided the alternate titles on the inside of the CD case.
#"Introduction (The Darkess Night)" – 2:29
#"After I Leave U (Maybe Again When I Leave U)" – 3:46
#"I Thought I Saw (Mama Don't You Think I Know)" – 4:16
#"In My Dreams (Sometimes Screw)" – 2:57
#"*C*A*T*S* (Here Forever Always)" – 3:29
#"Your Bones" – 4:16
#"You Need a Heart (You Need A Heart To Live)" – 4:07
#"You and Me" – 0:18
#"Get Your Curse (Summer Left Your Heart Behind)" – 3:39
#"Seven Minutes (Seven Minutes In Heaven)" – 3:56
#"Send My Face (I'll Send My Face To Your Funeral)" – 4:58
References
{{Authority control
2006 albums
His Name Is Alive albums