Live at the Sugar Club, Dublin

Not many bands with zero recorded output to their name could draw a packed house, mid-week, on what turned out to be the coldest night in over two years.
But then Hal have been widely touted as the band to watch out for in 2004 – Rough Trade emerging as winners of last year’s bidding frenzy. A heavy industry and media presence joining the highly partisan home audience tonight lent the proceedings an air of celebration.
Hal rose to the occasion, if not quite magnificently then with enough pop savvy on display to prove they have a better-than-average chance of making this their year. Frontman Dave Allen has a vocal presence bands would kill for, while the others harmonised skilfully at almost every turn. True, they draw from the same 1970’s West Coast musical well as their near-neighbours The Thrills and will doubtless suffer from comparisons.
But Hal are in fact much more laid back in approach, with slow-burners making up the bulk of the set. If it lacked pace at times the quality of the songs ultimately overcame their live limitations. The upcoming single, ‘Worry About The Wind’ is a sparkling gem, while ballads like, ‘Keep Love As Your Golden Rule’ and ‘Slow Down’ demonstrate some canny popcraft at work.
In short, there’s nothing shallow about this Hal (sorry – couldn’t resist).