The Midwest emo genre is about as Iowan as American Gothic. Just like Grant Wood portrayed the stoic sincerity of the mid-American farmer, Midwest emo embodies the authentic restlessness of alternative artists in the heartland. If you’re looking for glittering yet somber soundscapes to pair with the bleak landscape of late autumn, meet The Halloween Episode — a self-described “y’allternative” six-piece out of Des Moines. Their debut album, Feels Like Hell to Me, drops this Friday.
The Halloween Episode is a labor of love between six long-time friends and seasoned musicians. Lead vocalist and guitarist Chase Schweitzer is a bona fide local music aficionado: he's co-host of the Pretty Fort podcast and is a producer with bandmate Brian Garrels for Greenwood Sound. Garrels is not only The Halloween Episode's bassist and indie engineer, he’s also had a longstanding career in professional audiovisual production with central Iowa mainstays xBk and FORTÉ.
Josh “Jorb” Petefish is the band’s synth player and slide guitarist. He’s also possibly the most qualified gearhead in Iowa, and his “Jorb Loves Gear” YouTube channel is fast closing in on 50,000 subscribers. Trumpeter and keyboardist Ryan Garmoe is a UNI trumpet performance graduate who's traveled the world playing professionally with numerous notable ensembles, including the Iowa jazz fusion band Wave Cage, and he independently releases experimental solo work. Guitarist Morgan Burmester and drummer Mikey Entin are also passionate local musicians whose efforts shine on the album.
Feels Like Hell to Me features eight brand new tracks of quintessential Midwest emo, complete with mathy guitars, melancholic trumpet, nostalgic synth and delightfully layered production. This project is truly an audiophile’s dream — Garrels’ thoughtful engineering is perfect for gearheads and lo-fi DIY enthusiasts alike. Frontman Schweitzer's conversational and confessional vocals are ideal for fans of bands like American Football, The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die and Mom Jeans.
“The album is thematically focused on the presence and absence of change in our lives — the difficult, uncomfortable change we experience inside when we grow and heal from our past, and also the change we desperately yearn to see in the environment around us,” Schweitzer said. “Sometimes, especially here in Iowa, it feels like we're in an Ice Age, where time moves backwards and progress unwinds. This record is an attempt at processing those feelings while taking accountability for our part to play in changing the future.”
Feels Like Hell to Me starts in true Midwest emo fashion, with twinkly, arpeggiated guitar and yearning trumpet on its instrumental opener, “Mereveille du Jour.” Petefish’s slide guitar on the second track, “Carmex,” leans more towards the latter half of the “y’allternative” descriptor — it’s cerebral emo with the urgency of math rock. The grungy syncopation continues in the short but sweet “Passwords,” which is rounded out by Garmoe’s haunting brass line. The instrumentation then perks up a bit on “Boy Meets Hell,” a track featuring a taste of what Schweitzer called “dusty Wurlitzer parts.”
The atmospheric sonic arrangement of the fifth track, “Burn Me Out,” captures the sense of dissatisfaction that’s at the core of Midwest emo and its melancholic nostalgia. The Wurlitzer then returns on “Lexapro,” which is a high point of the album that borders on indie bedroom pop. That intimate feeling carries over to “Vibe Killer,” a fun, bouncy twist on emo sensibilities. Nick Booth of the Iowa band Bouquet joins The Halloween Episode on the album’s closing song, “Different Plain.” This final track ends on a heavier post-hardcore note, complete with screamed vocals and a bit of chaos, perfect for All Hallows’ Eve!
If you’re looking to celebrate Halloween with some stellar local music this year, The Halloween Episode is hosting a free album release listening party at HiFi Brew Lounge in West Des Moines at 8 p.m. on Friday, October 31. Feels Like Hell to Me will also be available on streaming platforms that day, and IPR’s Nick Brunner will spin a song off the record during his live Halloween show from 7 to 10 p.m. on Friday night, streaming anywhere you listen to Studio One.
