Editor’s Note: Originally published March 2018
Los Angeles native Henry Hall harnesses a pop-rock charm often delivered with a humorous and playful style all his own. Not to be confused with the late great Henry Hall & His Orchestra, who delivered one dynamite version of “The Teddy Bear’s Picnic” a handful of years ago back in 1932, which you should listen to HERE.
With many mainstream lyrics nowadays sounding painfully similar, almost robotic, Hall strays from the pack with thought-provoking and funny lyrics. With lines like “You’re not an 1890’s Irish Lad”, from the song “Comfort Zone”, or perhaps “Peg and I, we had a kid/And we named him Greg/Regretfully we named him Greg/Shoulda named him Troy/That’s the best name for boys,” in his song “Kid”, both sung in a joyfully drawn-out falsetto vocal with killer harmonies. Hall sings in a high register, much akin to the singing style of artists he admires like Prince, Thom Yorke, The Weeknd, and others.
Hall produces a danceable feel-good style to his music. The twangy undulating guitar riffs that complement the bouncy melody make for a sound that you might expect to hear in a Tears For Fears or maybe The Cure classic. There’s something of a vintage eighties essence with a modern twist exuded in Hall’s music.
In June of 2016, Rolling Stone published an article on Hall featuring his music video “Frenemy (Just Be Nice)”. His iconic lineage has allowed him to use his natural sense of humor and witty light-heartedness to his advantage, which is on display with his music videos and lyrics. Being the son of comedic television icon Julia Louis-Dreyfus, all of this comes organically for Hall. Read Rolling Stone’s article HERE for further insight on his relationship with his mom, and her support of his music. It went without question that we ask Hall his favorite Seinfeld episode, to which he answered “The Yada Yada episode.” Just awesome.
Hall recently finished up a February residency at The Satellite out in LA, which he claims “was some of the most fun I’ve had at a run of shows ever.” He’s got more singles set for release in the next couple months, and some live performance videos as well, so stay tuned for some more visual delights. “…maybe I’ll make a video of me pouring milk into a bowl of cereal too, who knows.” Lord knows we’re all for it here at Music Mecca.
His last three singles included such tracks as “Love For Serious”, “Kid”, and “Talk,” which have received lots of positive responses from audiences. Hall’s axe of choice is his trusty Gibson ES-335, which he’s played since he was merely a preteen. “It’s so versatile and trustworthy- sort of like Steven Adams from the Oklahoma City Thunder.” If that’s not reliability, I don’t know what is.
And while we’re on the subject, let it be known Hall predicts Penn State running back Saquon Barkley will be chosen first overall in the NFL Draft this April.
To wrap things up, we’ve listed Henry Hall’s Top 5 artists of 2018:
- Wiley
- Soccer Mommy
- Ruckazoid
- Clairo
- Louis Cole
Listen to Henry Hall on Spotify HERE and be sure to follow him on social media, like maybe his Facebook page which can appear on your screen by clicking THIS.
