Half Moon Run Preview Upcoming LP ‘Salt’ With Stunning New Single & Video “Alco”

Canadian alt-rock trio Half Moon Run promised there would be more to come in 2023 – and they’ve definitely delivered. This past week, the group of multi-instrumentalists shared a new single and full details of their album to be released in June. 

“Alco” is classically Half Moon Run. Instrumentally, it combines an unearthed ukulele riff from 2012 with additional recordings from 2022. There’s a whimsical quality to the track thanks to the underlying rhythmic picked guitar string throughout, built upon with brushed drums, strings and the band’s signature vocal harmonies. Sonically, it ties perfectly into the sound that Half Moon Run has become known for, while still feeling new and exciting at the same time. 

Band member, Conner Molander explains, “Devon [Portielje] took a ukulele on a trip to Thailand in 2012. When he got back to Montreal, he played the opening riff of “Alco” for us – and we loved it! We started developing the song around that time, but kept running into roadblocks with the arrangement. It’s such a pleasure now to feel like we finally cracked the code after all these years. Personally I love the elven textures that decorate this recording – it feels mystical!” 

The music video amplifies the natural themes found within the lyrics and the earthy, “eleven textures” as described by Moldander. Alternating with scenes of the trio playing in black and white are scenes of dense woods, moss covered trees, open prairies, mountain ranges and the beach. As they speak to an unanswerable question, there’s a feeling of carefree happiness when watching the video, visually evoking the same sentiment as the riff that both starts and carries through the song. 

“Alco” follows earlier single “You Can Let Go” and brings with it details about Salt, the new album being released June 2nd. Moldander reveals that the album will feature a mix of new material as well as songs that have been in the works for the better part of a decade, sharing that “this record represents a broad, sweeping scope of output from different eras of this band…While making this record, it felt as if we were boiling down a huge cauldron of musical ideas, trying to reduce it to something elemental. What we were left with was Salt.” 

Live Dates 2023

July 1, 2023 @ George Street Festival, Saint John’s, NL

July 6, 2023 @ Soif de Musique Festival, Cowansville, QC

July 7 2023 @ Festi-Voix Festival, Trois-Rivières, QC

September 12 2023 @CHALK, Brighton, UK

September 13, 2023 @O2 Forum Kentish Town, London, UK

September 14, 2023 @ SWX, Bristol, UK

September 16, 2023 @ Albert Hall, Manchester, UK

September 17, 2023 @ SWG3, Glasgow, UK

September 18, 2023 @ Brudenell Social Club, Leeds, UK

September 20, 2023 @ Het Depot, Leuven, BE

September 21, 2023 @ Live Music Hall, Cologne, DE

September 22, 2023 @Le Bataclan, Paris, FR

September 23, 2023 @ L’Astrolobe,  Rennes, FR

September 25, 2023 @ L’Epicerie Moderne, Lyon, FR

September 26, 2023 @ Kaufleuten, Zurich, CH

September 28, 2023 @Freiheitshalle, Munich, DE

September 29, 2023 @ Alte Feuerwache, Mannheim, DE

September 30, 2023   @Festsaal Kreuzberg, Berlin, DE

October 2, 2023 @ Pumpehuset, Copenhagen, DN

October 3, 2023 @ Fabrik, Hamburg, DE

October 4, 2023 @ Doornroosje, Nijmegen, NL

October 6, 2023 @ TivoliVrendenburg, Utrecht, NL

October7, 2023 @ Oosterport, Groningen, NL

October 8, 2023 @ Muziekgieterij, Maastricht, NL

October 24, 2023 @ El Rey Theater, Los Angeles, CA

October 25, 2023 @ August Hall, San Francisco, CA

October 27, 2023 @ Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR

October 28, 2023 @ The Crocodile, Seattle, OR

October 29, 2023 @ Spanish Ballroom Tacoma, WA

November 1, 2023 @ Royal Theatre, Victoria, BC

November 2, 2023 @ Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC

November 3, 2023 @ Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC

November 5, 2023 @ MacEwan Hall, Calgary, AB

November 7, 2023 @ Coors Event Centre, Saskatoon, SK

November 8, 2023 @ Burton Cummings Theatre, Winnipeg, MB

November 10, 2023 @ Varsity Theater, Minneapolis, MN

November 11, 2023 @ Metro, Chicago, IL

November 12, 2023 @ Saint Andrew’s Hall, Detroit, MI

November 14, 2023 @ The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA

November 16, 2023 @ Union Stage, Washington, VA

November 17, 2023  @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY

November 18, 2023 @ Royale, Boston, MA

November 21, 2023 @ London Music Hall, London, ON

November 23, 2023 @ History, Toronto, ON

November 24, 2023 @ Kingston Grand Theatre, Kingston, ON

November 25, 2023 @ Algonquin Commons Theatre, Ottawa, ON

November 26, 2023 @ Algonquin Commons Theatre, Ottawa, ON

December 13, 2023 @ MTelus, Montreal, QC

December 14, 2023 @ MTelus, Montreal, QC

December 15, 2023 @ Salle Maurice-O’Bready, Sherbrooke, QC

December 17, 2023 @ Théâtre du Palais Municipal, Saguenay, QC

December 18, 2023 @ Grand Théâtre@ Quebec City, QC