Lee Gallagher and the Hallelujah

The music on the self-titled debut from Lee Gallagher & The Hallelujah would be impressive regardless of the backstory: 11 tunes that are extremely comfortable in their own soulful, rocking skin. The fact that Gallagher and his bandmates had only been playing together for four months prior to laying those tracks down is as mind-blowing as some of their jams. “Bands are organic—you can’t force it,” says Gallagher. It was a case of “strange, cosmic, weird shit” that brought Gallagher and keyboardist Kirby Hammel together: Hammel was “pounding out some badass boogie-woogie on an upright piano” in the back of a truck. “I gotta talk to this guy,” Gallagher told himself. “So I did—and it all kind of came together from there.” Guitarist Jacob Landry plays with a style that will remind you of many without imitating any; drummer Joe Miller and (newest Hallelujah member) bassist Jimmy Dewald lock in as one through arrangements that flow with the emotion of the tune at hand. Gallagher’s vocal power may remind you of the late Steve Marriott or a young Robert Plant—he plays a wicked blues harp, too—but he also has the sort of control and phrasing that’s more often associated with the gospel world. - Relix

Citing influences from music artists such as Neil Young, Humble Pie, Merle Haggard and the Staples Singers, Lee Gallagher and the Hallelujah has gained a reputation as one of the Bay Area’s best rock bands. Earlier in the year, the band led by vocalist Lee Gallagher made a number of local, high-profile appearances, including the popular Haight-Ashbury Street Fair, the Not Dead Yet Fest and the Live 107.7 The Bone’s annual Bone Bash at Shoreline Amphitheater. The San Francisco-based band earned the distinction to appear at this year’s Bone Bash, which featured classic rockers Boston, The Doobie Brothers and Don Felder by winning the popular radio station’s Local Licks Battle of the Bands. More recently, Lee Gallagher and the Hallelujah was named The Deli Magazine’s SF Artist of the Month in September and is set to release their debut album in January. - CBS San Francisco

"There’s no arguing with the talent and skill on display on San Franciscan blues belter Lee Gallagher’s debut. With their mix of psychedelic organ, earthy blues rock and huge gospel flourishes, his band have clearly been striving for perfection, and this album suggests they want to be taken very seriously indeed." - Classic Rock Magazine

Thumbs up to the awesome psych- soul band, Lee Gallagher and the Hallelujah - SF Deli Magazine

Lee Gallagher and the Hallelujah – “Gloryland”
“Gloryland” is from Lee Gallagher and the Hallelujah’s self-titled debut album, which came out in January. The SF psych-influenced rock band is headed on a Pacific Northwest tour this spring in conjunction with an appearance at the Treefort Music Festival in Boise. - The Bay Bridged

Lee Gallagher and the Hallelujah by Lee Gallagher and the Hallelujah. This San Francisco-based band’s organ-spiced music is anachronistic in the best way: it incorporates more than a hint of psychedelia and potent lead guitar and recalls the most anthemic tracks of Guns ’n’ Roses; I’m also reminded of more obscure 70s groups like Nektar and Pavlov’s Dog. Lee Gallagher, who wrote all of the material, is an intense and arresting vocalist, and his band is top-notch. It remains to be seen how wide an audience there is for this music today, but for the right ears, Lee Gallagher and the Hallelujah should qualify as great stuff. - Jeff Burger - The Morton Report/No Depression

If rock ’n’ roll is the gospel, then Lee Gallagher and the Hallelujah are its preachers. This is one of those bands that have the magic rock touch... They rock hard and they own it onstage - Tony Dushane - San Francisco Chronicle

""Touch the Water' is a great tune, redolent of Ryan Adams attempting an early Rod ballad whilst 'Shallow Grave' enters full-on Robert Plant mode." - Shindig!

Taking the early ‘70s vinyl expositions of Americana by The Rolling Stones and their ilk as a touchstone, Lee Gallagher & The Hallelujah have created a truly beguiling record which carries on the good work by extrapolating rootsy rock music with hefty doses of gospel, folk and even psychedelic touches.

What they’ve ended up with is an album that never releases its hold on the listener. Each of these eleven tracks offer something diverse and different, yet all coalesce into a unified whole – like The Stones they have assimilated their many varied influences into their very DNA, and give each a decent workout as individual songs dictate.

Even the cover harkens back to the ‘good ole days’: a three panel fold out CD sleeve with all the lyrics, simple and concise credits, and a Side One and Side Two track list. Don’t come to The Hallelujah expecting nu metal or hip hop: their influences pre-date such follies by decades.

Isolating the best tracks seems churlish with an album clearly intended to be listened to as a suite of music, especially as every song stands tall individually. Gallagher sings on the opening Hallelujah Prelude, “we made it through the mountain pass/ we didn’t do it alone/ we were walking hand in hand/ hallelujah/ we can see the lights below/ we can feel the heavy glow/ so follow me,” and it’s a fitting introduction to this band, and the triumphant, uplifting music they’ve created.

The album continues their journey: starting mostly acoustically, with Gallagher’s high pitched vocals leading the way, by the last few tracks a jagged electric guitar punctuates the songs rambunctiously. As a piece of music, the album has the energy and flow of a live show. I’ll be following them from now on. - 100% Rock Magazine

It’s a piece of cake to trace the influences, the winds blowing through the sails of Lee Gallagher and The Hallelujah’s “Gloryland.” Simply list the best Rock-N-Roll groups of the last 50 years, throw in a few Country music bands, some Indies and Laurel Canyon Folk harmonies and there you have it.
If the song were a haunted house, Neil Young would lead the apparitions’ festivities. Gallagher’s voice can’t help but make us recall a youthful Neil’s ghostly, tremulous, high-pitched singing. While we’re at it, we might as well mention Crazy Horse, because there is a general crunchy background sound that feels like the joyous slamming of doors and throwing of plates.
Not to beat this metaphor to death, but the haunted house would also find the spirits of Led Zep (Robert Plant, in particular), Bob Seger (the background singing in “Old Time Rock & Roll”), a schmear of Janis Joplin’s Full Tilt Boogie Band, and on and on. It’s a crowded house. Oh, cripes, here comes that Jerry Lee Lewis sneaking into the party-party again, too.
In “Gloryland” this Bay Area band (some by way of Ohio) executes impeccable Rock-N-Roll. Even their loose-as-a-goose Delta-based vibe is perfection itself. Just for good measure, a swirl of psychedelia is stirred in.
Gallagher is the singer and songwriter; he earns very high marks at both crafts.
Jacob Landry on lead guitar wails and screams and bends and lifts “Gloryland” from the realm of good, clean, hip-shakin’ music into something intergalactic. In the classic Rock days, people would have said “cosmic.” Call us crazy (get in line) but we hear Lowell George in the boy’s playing, and in general we hear a lot of Little Feat, the lost, lamented band of the ’70s. (Think “It’s So Easy To Slip.”)
If anyone is providing the basis for the bottom, it’s Kirby Hammel on keyboards. It’s always intoxicating to run across a piano player who understands that the ivories are part of a percussion instrument as well as a melody maker. We’re not slighting Joe Miller on drums or Jimmy Dewald on bass. They are both all aces. Gallagher’s and Landry’s top are built on top of the serious professional, foundational bottom.
Gallagher’s lyrics are intriguingly ambiguous. We’re rambling around in Bruce’s “Born In The U.S.A.”-land. Is this a praising ode to a great and greatly complicated country? Or is it a pointed harpoon? Well hot dogs sure are good but they ain’t so good for you.
Maybe that’s the American contradiction. Right there on a bun with the works.
I’m gonna spread this gospel ’round
Gonna tear this building down
Gonna take all the seeds
From a dead man’s hand
Spread ‘em all around
In Gloryland
Lee Gallagher & The Hallelujah capture the country’s mixed up mood in song. We can’t decide if we’re at war or not, whether the economy is good or not, if the minimum-wage Joes and Janes are bums or stars, or if our cultural legacy is great or shabby. Some countries move forward smoothly. In America, time lurches on.
Gallagher and his gang make the listener ask the questions, but are so distractingly fabulous that we soon forget we even care about the answers. - Song Mango

"Lee Gallagher and the Hallelujah’s self titled album not only has charisma, but like Steve Marriott’s time with both Humble Pie and The Small Faces, the sexual lyrical allure and driving passion of Bon Scott and Jim Morrison and the intrigue and real human life stories that binds together John Dexter Jones work are mixed with fruitful conviction throughout the 11 songs on offer by Kirby Lee Hammell, Jacob Landrey, Kevin Grapski, Joe Miller and of course Lee Gallagher."-- - Liverpool Sound and Vision

The way rock n roll used to be played is back in vogue thanks to bands like Lee Gallagher and The Hallelujah. There are a lot of nods to Neil Young as well as Led Zep for sure but there is a lot more to them than just easy comparisons. The music from the band is excellent, guitar, drums, organs, piano’s very cool sounds and well produced. The debut album comes out early 2015 so when it’s all posted , I will make sure to get the entire Album up here for all of you to listen to. Fantastic voice for the style, to me it’s like 2014 meets up with the greats from the Laurel Canyon era. Well worth your time and attention, give a listen to these guys today you will not be disappointed. - 50Thirdand3rd

It’s not often that a roots band so triumphantly kicks off their debut that one feels as though they’ve encountered something instantaneously formidable. Luckily, the immediately powerful sound comes hand in glove with San Francisco based roots-rockers Lee Gallagher & The Hallelujah on their eponymous debut record. An exciting brew of Americana, psychedelia and gospel sensibilities, Lee Gallagher & The Hallelujah proffers an exciting response to the banality of “What do roots acts nowadays have to offer?” The answer: a hell of lot, buddy.
“We made it through the mountain pass/we didn’t do it alone/we were walking hand in hand/so Hallelujah” croons Lee Gallagher on the opening track of the record, setting up something much more breathtakingly complicated. What begins as a subdued offering quickly becomes a cosmic adrenaline rush reminiscent of Springsteen and The Band at their most vivacious.
PrintThe album carries on like cosmic sermon, with Gallagher preaching from a celestial pulpit. By the time “Gloryland” and “Shallow Grave” come around the homily is in full swing – and comes off sounding much more like a Zeppelin-stained act than The Louvin Brothers.
What is so impressive with the record is how much stamina the band possesses. From the get-go it’s clear that Gallagher and company aren’t losing steam any time soon, and the insane tenacity only seems to mount with every coming track. It’s nearly impossible to do anything but get steamrolled with every coming song, and this holds true many spins after the initial listen. The excitement seems to mount on the penultimate “Take Me Before You Go” only to utterly blindside one’s headsets with the blistering finale of “1935.” It’s a voyage, man.
The best part of Lee Gallagher’s untamable beast? It’s a truly strange record. This is meant in the absolute greatest way possible, folks. Why, nowhere else can one hear the synthesis of gospel, psychedelia, roots, Americana, folk, and rock in a crossroads that brings them altogether so perfectly. Not often do you find yourself listening to writhing vocals about God laid over snarling guitar and a piano that sounds about ready to bust open. Triumphant, is the correct label in this situation, and triumphant it surely is.
We seem to have unfairly forgotten just how capable roots bands are of kicking out the jams. Then again, it may be less a case of forgetfulness and more a case of the general listening population leery of investing in a band that brands itself authentically rather than pandering to the insipid L.C.D. What bullshit, eh?
Lee Gallagher ought to be wholeheartedly applauded on two fronts; one for producing a truly kickass record, the second for refusing to concede just how weird they are. It’s a humdinger. - Turnstyled Junkpiled

San Francisco is another town that was know primarily in a different era as being a hotbed of innovative, iconic music. There is still plenty of talent in emanating from the City by the Bay with Lee Gallagher and The Hallelujah being one of the latest installments. While an inevitable touch of psychedelia is noticeable, this act has far more depth in both songwriting and musical capabilities to be even remotely considered as coattail riders. “Sugartown” jumps out at you with a pulsing vibe and a subtle intensity that sneaks up on you. “Empty Stars” is an Americana power ballad straddling a masterful mid-ground of hookiness and the edginess. “Gloryland” stomps at you like John Mellencamp was hanging out at an Iggy Pop concert. Every track is graced by Lee’s airy, emotive vocal warble, with a surprising range particularly on display in “Feel Like Going Home,” which is also one of the many tracks that displays the blistering southern-friend guitar soloing of Jacob Landry. Bassist Kevin Grapski and drummer Joe Miller drive a potent rhythm machine while KIrby Hammel spices up the stew with delectable piano and organ passages. A heady mix of retro tube-amp fuzz, heartland tales and instrumentation, and modern alt grit, this is one of the more ear-opening acts to come from Frisco…and for that matter the West Coast… in a long time. – MW - Music Morsels

“Hazy folk rock-Americana that gives a serious nod to the musical aesthetics of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, but Gallagher’s voice upholds a particularly recognizable nod to Neil Young.” - The Deli

"An obvious walking, talking lead singer, someone about to grab the nearest mic and wail. And wail he does." - City Beat Magazine

"When music fans think of great singer-songwriters, they might think of Neil Young and when they think of powerful voices they might think of Robert Plant. Perhaps the generation of today and tomorrow, they might think of Lee Gallagher as both." - Bay Area Examiner

"Lee Gallagher and his band, The Hallelujah provide a 'teaser' on their website for their debut album. It is one minute and 30 seconds long and it is aggravating as hell. It is way too short, incredibly enticing, igniting a hunger that dwells in many of us; that longing for something real, fresh and exciting, like music used to be." - Coachella Valley Weekly

"Critics are raving about Lee Gallagher & The Hallelujah, particularly Gallagher’s Neil Young and Robert Plant-esque vocal intonations, framed by the band’s “hazy, folk-rock, Americana style.” -- - Red Dirt Reporter, OK

Congratulations to Lee Gallagher and The Hallelujah for winning the The Deli Magazine San Francisco Artist of the Month Poll!

It was a bit of a close race, but they came out on top and have become The Deli Magazine SF's Artist of the Month! The fans and readers have chosen their top choice and we personally love this band’s high intensity Zepplin - psych revival style of music. If you want to witness a pristine rock and roll show that will make you think in the back of your mind that you’re having a religious experience, Lee Gallagher is the band to see.

We wish them the best in all their endeavors! We dig the music!

You can catch them live at The Chapel in San Francisco on Thursday, September 4th! - Deli Magazine