Music holds a special place in each and every person’s heart, including my own. Music can tell stories, make you feel emotions, and provide a place of understanding or community all around the world. A band called Tally Hall, formed in 2002, understood this, and began creating music. The albums they are most known for are Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum, and Good and Evil. However, an album that not many know them for is Hawaii: Part II.
Hawaii: Part ii was not actually released by the band Tally Hall- but rather under the label Miracle Musical. Though we know now the members of Tally Hall were the ones behind the project, there has always been a sense of mystery behind it. The album, featuring eleven songs, was infamously released on 12/12/12 at exactly 12:12:12 PM, and is the only album published under the name Miracle Musical.
The album itself begins with Introduction to the Snow, which serves as a sort of overture. The story of the album follows a man only known as Simon as he lives his life on an island, presumably Hawaii. It’s there he meets his lover, a woman commonly called Stella by the fanbase. Their days are very happy on the island, and they love each other very dearly, as shown by the songs White Ball and Isle Unto Thyself. However, one day, on a picnic in the forest in the song Murders, Stella is murdered by an unknown killer. Nobody can save her in time, and she goes on to the afterlife, in 宇宙ステーションのレベル7 (Space Station Level 7.) Because Simon was the only one with her in the forest at the time, he is tried and found guilty of murder. He pleads insanity, and is sent to an insane asylum, in the climax of the album, and its most popular song- The Mind Electric.
It is at this facility Simon endures many tortures, such as electroconvulsive therapy and isolation from the outside world. He finds his mind a labyrinth, (also the name of the song,) a winding maze that he is unable to escape from. In Time Machine, he wishes he could go back to the past and fix everything that happened with Stella.
After an unconfirmed number of years at the mental facility, Simon decides to escape from the institution. He somehow manages to break out, and find a raft on the shore of a beach. Without thinking, and in a broken mental state, he uses the raft to sail onto the open sea with no direction at all. After some days, he realizes he’s lost at sea, and has no way to journey back (Stranded Lullaby.) The final song on the album is called Dream Sweet in Sea Major, and is a reprise of the album’s opener, Introduction to the Snow. He reminisces on not only his life, but life in general. This is the longest track on the album, clocking in at around eight minutes. After years of torture and suffering, Simon finally passes, at peace and at sea, and rejoins his lover in the afterlife.
This album means a lot to so many, and explores both mental illness and grief in horrifically beautiful ways. It is very spontaneous, one song featuring electric instrumentals and rap, while another a beautiful chorus and harp. No matter the styles of the songs, you are almost guaranteed to adore at least some of them.
In thinking of a final article to write, this story was the first to pop into my mind. I’ve always been drawn to musical rock operas such as The Black Parade or Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, and Hawaii Part II is no exception. It can be incredibly sad
I would recommend this album to anyone who enjoys dramatic music with non-typical instrumentals. The album is absolutely gorgeous, and holds a very special place in my heart.
You can listen to the album for yourself on Spotify, Youtube, and Apple Music.
