By my count, this is the ninth time we’ve written about Curse Walk, the solitary release from Shaboi. Our 2019 writeup – celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the record – probably said all that needed to be said about it but it’s become a bit of tradition around here to say a few words in its honor.

By and large, there aren’t a lot of Halloween albums. Even fewer still from Nashville artists. That’s not to say there are none! There’s a deep catalog of works from Boo Dudes, various worthwhile compilation releases, enigmatic soundtracks, concept records and compelling singles in droves if you’re paying attention but they don’t really hold a candle to the number of Christmas albums. Halloween specific music is still a delightful rarity when viewed relatively to other niche holiday-specific genres.

What makes Curse Walk so worthy of writing about nine different times? Partially, it was released by yk Records so there’s some inherit bias on the part of your author. More importantly, it’s a record that doesn’t continuously try to present itself as a spooky or scary concept record. The entire playthrough is less than 20 minutes but manages to cover rock, hip-hop, spoken word melodrama, country, folk and a dash of R&B spiritual. It’s erratic but it somehow manages to stay cohesive. The songwriting is earnest but never takes itself too seriously. It’s a record that embraces the fun of Halloween, while eschewing the darkest parts of the season and never embracing the pessimistic.

It’s a record that’s enjoyable to listen to any time of year but really hits home throughout October. There’s only a few days left in the month for its full potency so we recommend you put it in heavy rotation. We look forward to talking about it again next year.

Stumbling across a holiday compilation of Christmas songs and other classics is not a unique experience; they crop up everywhere starting in early November. However, finding a good Halloween compilation is always a surprising treat. Even better still is when the compilation features familiar and original songs for the season. To-Go Records delivers on both fronts with their To-Go Records Halloween Compilation.

The comp isn’t a lengthy one (another check in the list of Pro’s) but that brevity leaves no time for humdrum offerings. Taking a quick spin through the tracklisting, we get BATS version of “I Put A Spell On You”, an intriguingly original version of “Don’t Fear the Reaper” from Iven, faithful covers of Pixies “I Bleed” and Queens of the Stone Age “Song for the Dead” from Ophelia and Morgan respectively, a romp with the Scooby Doo theme from Impediment, a slow burning, new-to-me cover of “Psycho from Heaven Honey and, finally, a breezy take on “Season of the Witch” from Routine Caffeine. It’s seven tracks that keep ya locked in from start to finish.

As if that weren’t enough good news, To-Go Records has also slated all the proceeds from the record to go towards Sunrise Movement; “a youth-led climate justice organization working to stop the climate crisis and creating millions of good jobs through a Green New Deal.” Spooky tunes and doing some good in the process. It’s a Win Win situation no matter how you look at it.

Check out the compilation on Bandcamp before Sunday for maximum enjoyment.

V to Z is the pseudonym of Joshua Moore; a staple of the Nashville & Murfreesboro rock scenes likely most known for his drum work in The Katies, Imagined Order, Bright Age, The Jane Shermans and Wax Fang. You’ve likely seen him play and it was likely bombastic. His work as V to Z is informed by decades of rhythmic explosions but decidedly more nuanced and fleshed out than just “drummer making solo music.”

The latest release from the project, “Daughters of Decay“, is a compelling tune that fits in perfectly with Fall / Halloween vibes. It’s a dash of spooky keyboards, a bit of haunting ambiance and a surprising amount of melancholy. It’s not a stretch to feel that parts of the track evoke the 1999 soundtrack for The Virgin Suicides by AIR, though Moore manages to twist and bend that mournful feeling into some much more doom and gloom as the track progresses.

Generally, V to Z tends to release a single song at a time. This may be due to time constraints, an abundance of ideas or a marketing technique. There’s no right way to release music but with “Daughters of Decay” it’s become clear that a larger compiled release would be a welcomed treat into this world. In the meantime, we’ll just play this one on repeat.