Alison's Halo is a band from Tempe,

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. Their sound, distinguished by dreamy vocals and loud, spacey guitars, is often also associated with

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming vol ...

and

dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as ...

History

Alison's Halo formed in Tempe, Arizona, in October 1992. The original lineup included vocalist/guitarist Catherine Cooper, guitarist Adam Cooper and bassist Lynn Anderson; they dubbed their

Alesis Alesis is an electronic music company that designs and markets electronic musical instruments, digital audio processors, audio mixers, drum amplifiers, amplifiers, digital audio interfaces, recording equipment, drum machines, professional aud ...

SR-16 drum machine "Alison". Their debut gig was at an old Odd Fellows hall with

Jimmy Eat World Jimmy Eat World is an American rock band formed in 1993 in Mesa, Arizona. The band is composed of lead vocalist and lead guitarist Jim Adkins, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch, and drummer Zach Lind. They ...

opening. The band quickly obtained opening slots for international touring acts like

Ultra Vivid Scene Ultra Vivid Scene was an American alternative rock band, started by Kurt Ralske. Background Former Nothing But Happiness and Crash guitarist Ralske started Ultra Vivid Scene in 1987, was signed to 4AD Records in 1988, and released his first ...

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, and Stereophonics, performed at several music festivals (including

CMJ Music Marathon CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

and

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) and recorded two demo cassettes, ''Slug'' and ''Halo''. They added drummer Thomas Lanser prior to recording their debut single, "Dozen", released in early 1995 on Independent Project Records. The lineup changed again, with bassist David Rogers (also of Half String) and drummer Roger Brogan replacing Anderson and Lanser. During 1997, the band added Scott McDonald (formerly of Closedown) as a third guitarist. Their first album, ''Eyedazzler 1992–1996'', a CD compilation of songs the band created between 1992 and 1996, was released in 1998 on

Burnt Hair Records Burnt Hair Records was a record label involved with Michigan's space rock alternative music scene in the 1990s. The label is said to have been most responsible for cultivating the Detroit sound of this period. Burnt Hair recorded artists in va ...

. After the dissolution of Alison's Halo in the late 1990s, Adam and Catherine Cooper relocated to Chicago and recorded

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gr ...

-influenced pop at their home Jetpack Studios under a variety of band names. As the Pastry Heros, they self-released the five-song ''Horn Rim Fury'' CD EP in 1998 on their own Submersible Recordings. As Kitten Factor, they released the "Nite Lite" single on the Rainbow Quartz International label in 1998, and the three-song "Surround" 7-inch EP in 1999 on Sunday Records. In 1999, they changed names again to Insta, re-releasing ''Horn Rim Fury'' under that name on Sunday Records. Insta released a full-length album, ''Checklist for Love'', in 2002 on Sunday. Adam Cooper also records as the solo ambient guitar project Signals Into Space. Drummer Brogan joined

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's band Spectrum in 2008 and also recorded with the Idaho Falls, Frausdots, the Vacant Lots and

Britta Phillips Britta Phillips (born June 11, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and actress. Phillips' music career spans more than 30 years. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s as the singing voice of the title character ...

. In 2009, the Coopers reactivated Alison's Halo and released several digital compilations of old material via their website, including three live albums and the ''Jetpacks for Julian'' demos EP. The Alison's Halo song "Dozen" was included on the '' Still in a Dream: A Story of Shoegaze 1988–1995'' box set compilation, released January 29, 2016, by

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as we ...

. On April 13, 2016, the band self-released a digital single, "Some Heaven"/"The Hardest Part", both tracks being ''Eyedazzler''-era demos from the 1990s. An expanded reissue of ''Eyedazzler'' finally materialized in 2017, released by Manufactured Recordings in CD, vinyl and digital formats as part of that label's The Shoegaze Archives reissue project. It included remastered tracks from ''Eyedazzler 1992–1996'', both sides of the "Dozen" single and three unreleased demos from the ''Eyedazzler'' sessions. Three videos were released to coincide with the reissue: "Dozen" (which debuted on ''

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''), "Slowbleed" and "Sunshy".

Discography

Singles and EPs

* ''Slug'' cassette EP (1993, self-released) * ''Halo'' cassette EP (1994, self-released) * "Dozen" 7-inch single (1995, Independent Project Records) * ''Jetpacks for Julian'' digital EP (2009, self-released) * "Some Heaven"/"The Hardest Part" digital single (2016, self-released)

Compilation albums

* ''Eyedazzler 1992–1996'' (1998,

) * ''Eyedazzler'' (2017, Manufactured Recordings)

Live albums

* ''Live at the 1995 All Fish Go to Heaven Festival: Hollywood Alley – Mesa Arizona '' digital album (2009, self-released) * ''Live at the 1995 Beautiful Noise Festival: Downtown Performance Center – Tucson Arizona'' digital album (2009, self-released) * ''Live at the 1995 Beautiful Noise Festival: Rancho De Los Muertos – Phoenix Arizona'' digital album (2009, self-released)

Compilation appearances

* "Dozen" on '' Still in a Dream: A Story of Shoegaze 1988–1995'' (2016, Cherry Red)

References

{{Authority control Rock music groups from Arizona Musical groups from Tempe, Arizona Musical groups established in 1992 American shoegaze musical groups 1992 establishments in Arizona