Hallaballoo have been at this for a while. The Minneapolis crew started as friends jamming in basements back in the early 2000s. No grand plan, but a bunch of people who liked playing together. That turned into rehearsals, then shows, then tours. And now they’ve got a new album called “Gravity“, released October 2, 2026.
It’s nine songs. Thirty-two minutes. Recorded at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. That studio left a mark on the band. Drummer Travis Johnston said the rooms have their own emotional weight. Sometimes mysterious. Sometimes bright. He said, “My soul understands it a lot better than my brain does.” That gives you a sense of the headspace.
The lineup on this record is deep. James Gross plays guitar and produced the album. Johnston is on drums. There’s also Al Berg, David Kittelson, Max LaRock, and Aaron Short, who wrote the lyrics for the title track. That’s a lot of voices in the room, and it shows.
The album opens with “Just Sit Back” and closes with “Starry Skies“. In between, you get a blend of melodic rock, funk, and psychedelia. Gross described the band as “built on the thrill of the jam but anchored in songcraft.” That’s a good way to put it. They’re not just noodling. They’re writing songs.
Take “Ain’t No Big Wup“. Johnston said it came together with almost no pre-production. Just question marks on charts and trust in each other. He added that kind of thing probably wouldn’t have happened in their first year. That’s the payoff of playing together for so long.
The process varied. Some tracks had individual prep, two rehearsals, then four or five takes. Others were built on the spot. Often they’d record bed tracks first, then add vocals later. Johnston said stories told after tracking could spark new ideas. He said the well of ideas in that room runs deep. Knowing which one to follow was part of the job.
“Undercover Bitch” was the first song this lineup recorded. Nick Murray wrote the lyrics. Kaity Heart, who’s also in Sunflower Fox and the Chicken Leg, sang a guest vocal. Gross produced. Ron Nevison mixed. Craig Holets mastered. That’s a heavy-hitting team.
The album also has some Easter eggs. Gross mentioned musical callbacks to earlier Hallaballoo songs and ideas. So longtime fans should keep their ears open.
Songs like “Perfect Midnight” run just 2:28. “Starry Skies” stretches past five minutes. They let the song dictate its own length. That’s confidence. The sequence moves through “It Isn’t Easy“, the title track “Gravity“, “Dirty Fingers“, and “Inches Away” before landing on that closing number. The band tracked 24 songs with the 2024-2025 lineup. Nine made the cut. That’s a lot of material to choose from, and they picked the right ones.
Johnston’s rule for making it work? “Trust your gut. Trust your soul. Trust the musicians in the room. And sometimes trust the engineer too.” That’s as good a motto as any.
“Gravity” isn’t trying to reinvent rock. It’s just a group of seasoned players listening to each other and letting the music go where it needs to go. It’s honest. It’s unpolished in the right ways. And it’s worth your time. Give it a listen.