CHILLING, THRILLING HOOKS AND HAUNTED HARMONIES: THE BIG STIR RECORDS HALLOWEEN GRIMOIRE Music CD

CHILLING, THRILLING HOOKS AND HAUNTED HARMONIES is set to be accompanied by a paranormal parade of videos, singles, and media events throughout October, making it more than just a superlative themed collection. That's especially true of the beautifully-designed, retro-themed Double LP, pressed on two eerie green discs and even including a playable 12”x24” board game as its inner gatefold, allowing listeners to play along and encounter the artists – and monsters! – featured on the album. And it's those artists and their songs that make this such a frighteningly fantastic experience: these are all originals (no covers!) and previously unreleased recordings, with a lucky 13 completely new songs joined by 8 radically reanimated remakes, remixes and live versions. The contributors are a who's-who of rising indie bands with acclaimed recent records (LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS, sparkle*jets u.k., THE ARMOIRES, CROSSWORD SMILES) alongside auspicious artists with careers reaching back to the '60s (THE STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK), the '70s (GRAHAM PARKER), the '80s (THE SPONGETONES, THE JACK RUBIES) and '90s (SPLITSVILLE, hot off their comeback album Mobtown)... and more than a few surprises! They're all in top form, too. These are superb songs that just happen to be inhabited by ghosts, ghouls, witches, cryptids and all the spirits and spectres of the season. There's a dazzling spectrum of sonic and lyrical approaches on display, including just about every type of tune you might associate with a happy Halloween. The noble tradition of monster-themed novelty rock rises from the grave on killer tracks from SHPLANG, THE INCURABLES and STEVE STOECKEL, and we're treated to supernatural psychedelia from the UK's THE GOLD NEEDLES and returning legends THE STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK. There are eerily haunting folk-horror textures from HUNGRYTOWN, THE SPONGETONES and BLAKE JONES & THE TRIKE SHOP (who add the essential theremin to the aural pallet) and goth-adjacent postpunk pulses via LADY DARKEVYL featuring CHRIS CHURCH, THE JACK RUBIES, and a dub-inflected outing from THE ARMOIRES. Unsettling but lush AM Gold comes to us from RICK HROMADKA (of the mighty Maple Mars) and RICHARD ÖHRN (of Swedish indie pop darlings In Deed), GRAHAM PARKER provides sinister soulfulness on an exclusive live track, and noir-punk is the order of the day when Chicago's DOLPH CHANEY teams up with Manchester, England's THE SPEED OF SOUND to herald a zombie apocalypse. Of course, it wouldn't be a Big Stir Records party without some pure power pop. While the promised hooks and harmonies permeate even the darkest of these tracks, they reach lethal levels in the hands of SPLITSVILLE (who completely revamp a vintage track from their l0-fi debut), LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS (who kick things off with a bewitching blast of urgent jangle rock) and CROSSWORD SMILES (with a positively bouncy rumination on the symbols of superstition). THE CORNER LAUGHERS, too, make a joyful noise celebrating the season on their first new track since their 2020 album Temescal Telegraph. And genre standard-bearers sparkle*jets u.k. deliver what sounds like – and is! – a lost classic from the era of “The Monster Mash” and“Purple People Eater”: “Eyeball Eater (From Outer Space).” There is, naturally, a story there. Speaking of stories – ghost stories, of course – CHILLING, THRILLING HOOKS AND HAUNTED HARMONIES offers up more than just terrifyingly terrific tunes. As with the packaging, the audio program takes its cues from the “haunted house party” and sound effects LPs of yesteryear, weaving a web between the songs consisting of twenty clever, creepy vignettes evoking the vintage vibes of Halloweens past. Leaning heavily into the iconic narration from the same beloved Disneyland Records LP that inspired the art design, it also features nods to scary staples ranging from Scooby-Doo to Shakespeare, and riffs on everything from Night Of The Living Dead to Rosemary’s Baby, The Twilight Zone, The Blair Witch Project, Vincent Price's “Thriller” rap, Joe Flaherty's immortal Count Floyd, and, above all, the classic Paul Frees narration for the Haunted Mansion. It all leads up to the closing track, performed like all the interstitial material by the mysterious collective of Big Stir luminaries known as THE PEPPER'S GHOST PLAYERS: “Spread My Ashes In The Haunted Mansion” (if you know, you know). There's something in the air this time of year, and whether it puts you in the mood for costumed revelry, late-night video jump-scares, or contemplating the boundless realm of the supernatural, CHILLING, THRILLING HOOKS AND HAUNTED HARMONIES: THE BIG STIR RECORDS HALLOWEEN GRIMOIRE captures it perfectly. It is, as one lyric has it, “a madcap macabre memento mori” and a celebration of the common thread between Halloween and rock and roll itself: both offer permission to step outside of the ordinary and be yourself – or someone else – if only for one night of trick-or-treating, or the cathartic duration of your favorite song. In times as bleak as these, dark humor can be a welcome escape, and that's what Halloween, and this record, offer in abundance. It's for you to decide if this completely unique album might be one of the finest collections ever crafted specifically for the spooky season, but we can guarantee that it's packed with monstrously marvelous music, and fiendishly frightening fun. So invite your friends, grab a fistful of candy – you'll need it to play the board game! – and drop the needle... if you dare! Trick or treat, and thank you, friends!

• Format: CD
• Genre: HOLIDAY
• Released: 10/10/2025