Discussing ‘Halloween Store’ by Andy Shauf
An artist that I’ve been listening to a lot in the last handful of years, is the brilliant canadian singer/songwriter Andy Shauf. Off his newest album ‘Norm’ from 2023, let’s look at the song called ‘Halloween Store’.
Shauf usually plays everything himself. Extremely soft, muted and over-compressed 70’s style drums, bouncy Paul McCartney style bass and some vibey seasick analog synths create the backdrop for the rugged acoustic western guitar strum and Shauf’s soft and intimate singing voice.
Listen to the song here: Halloween Store (YouTube)
The song has an underplayed and infectious up-tempo indie-rock groove, but for me, the main hook is in the quirky and original storytelling.
The song is a quite special take on the lyrical theme I call “A day in the life”, where you tell the story of a day you or someone else have experienced.
In this case, the protagonist is a guy called ‘Norm’ (like the album). A, presumably, grown single man that’s oddly concerned as to what to wear for Halloween. He’s sitting at home smoking weed and thinking about going to the Halloween Store. The first line is a wonderfully simple and effective way to set up a song. So mundane, yet so full of promise of what’s to come later in the song.
Halloween is just around the corner I was thinking today
But the second verse is where it gets really hilarious in the most wonderful way:
I started my car and as I did
I wondered if I'd locked the house
Walked back and found that I hadn't
But now my keys were in the car
Walked to the car, pulled the handle
And it snapped back, at least, I'd locked one door
Reached my hand through the open window
Pulled the lock, forgot about the house
And drove to the Halloween store
So basically, he spends a whole verse on something ridiculously unimportant from what we can only presume so far, is just another random day. It’s amazing how he can stretch out something so small over a whole verse. Minimalistic indie storytelling at its finest. A soft spoken and deliberately awkward protest of sorts, against those that would have you believe that songwriting is ‘oh so serious’ and difficult. Isn’t it refreshing that it can be this simple?
Speaking of “A day in the life” type songs, I can’t help to think about the original ‘A Day In The Life’ by The Beatles. Check out what Paul is doing in the B section:
Woke up, fell out of bed
Dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup
And looking up, I noticed I was late
Found my coat and grabbed my hat
Made the bus in seconds flat
Found my way upstairs and had a smoke
And somebody spoke and I went into a dream
There’s a lot of layers to that song, that I might go into in another newsletter, but for now it’s interesting to look at Shauf’s 2nd verse as a lazy eyed and lethargic paraphrase.
You’re left guessing as to what goes through Norm’s mind in the choruses. Probably nothing at all or very little and it works like a charm. Sometimes there’s also great meaning and importance in simply saying nothing.
Between these almost silly verses and the instrumental choruses, there’s all the contrast you need to keep the song moving along beautifully.
I won’t spoil the slightly ambiguous and perhaps somewhat uncanny ending, but have a read and a listen and let me know what you think. Is it just a cute love story in the parking lot of a Halloween Store or how long has he/she been sitting there smiling at him?
The idea of skipping the chorus in favour of an instrumental postchorus is a common trick in indierock and an idea that I’ve used myself in ‘Easter Island’ by The Eclectic Moniker. Sometimes you just can’t be bothered with all the pomp and circumstance of a normal chorus that just seems to be trying way too hard to be seen and heard. Mr. Big Important Chorus with Wind in Your Hair on the Mountainside, please take it easy, go sit in the corner and chill and wait your turn, thank you very much.
Listen to ‘Easter Island’ HERE
