Haleluya Hailu Unveils eternally, yours via 604 Records
Haleluya Hailu is reclaiming the Manic Pixie Dream Girl with the release of eternally, yours, out today via 604 Records. Typically assigned to young and quirky female movie characters, the term describes a well-worn stock character whose sole purpose is to help or inspire brooding young men lost in a time of transition. But the Vancouver-based Hailu, a multi-instrumentalist, poet, and activist, wants to bring a third dimension to these colorful female archetypes on her clever and catchy debut.
Named for the classic arthouse film Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, eternally, yours. features a vibrant and sparkling collection of alternative-minded tracks that effortlessly straddle emo, punk, and pop. Mid-’90s Britpop also informs the sound of eternally, yours, especially on the percussive and chiming “heavyweight,” which takes inspiration from Blur, Haleluya deals with the frustratingly common experience of figuring out where your genuine relationships are.
“‘Heavyweight’ is about losing all your friends,” Haleluya reveals. “You don’t know what’s going on, you’re trying to call them, but they’re not picking up.”
A child of Ethiopian immigrants, the family relocated to Vancouver when the singer-songwriter was just a baby. A naturally gifted singer, Haleluya absorbed herself in the school choir and eventually picked up the ukulele, guitar, and even the alto saxophone. In high school, Haleluya began writing songs in earnest — a talent she honed while studying music at Selkirk College, a tiny enclave tucked away and surrounded by woods in Nelson, British Columbia.
Recording at 604 Studios with producers Quinn Pickering and Jared Manierka, Haleluya closely mined her personal life for inspiration on eternally, yours., which grapples with coming-of-age themes around isolation, mental health, burdensome memories, personal growth, and ending toxic relationships.
“I started exploring the concept of wanting to erase the last two years of my life,” Haleluya elaborates of eternally, yours. “Like Eternal Sunshine, I wished I could have my memory erased. But I’m deeply grateful for the person I’ve become in regards to the amount of trauma that I’ve had to go through.”
On the release of her debut EP the young singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist finds herself at a crossroads but one thing is for sure: Anyone working to better understand themselves, their friends, their relationships, and their next steps will relate — eternally.