The Inevitability of a Strange World

Recording

Produced by Lou Giordano, the album was originally planned to be released on August 9, 2005, but Drive-Thru Records asked the band to record four more songs with record producer Machine ("Our Revolution", "Hey Italy", "Such a Terrible Trend", and "I Told You So").

Bassist Doug Peyton joined Halifax in-between the two recording sessions, hence singer Mike Hunau played bass on the Giordano-produced tracks. Guest musicians on the CD include guitarist Paul Nelson (performing a solo on "Anthem for Tonight") and Tourmaline's keyboardist Corey Zaloom.

Release

The release was then rescheduled for February 14, 2006, but delayed again for distribution issues. On February 7, 2006, however, a three-song sampler containing "Nightmare", "Under Fire", and "Anthem for Tonight" was made available for online purchase and at the band's concerts. On March 21, the album was formally announced for release. On the same day, "Nightmare","Anthem for Tonight" and "Under Fire" were made available for streaming. In April, the band filmed a music video. On May 19, the band released an acoustic version of "Such a Terrible Trend" via PureVolume. The Inevitability of a Strange World was released on May 23 through Drive-Thru. The album is named after a book Moberg was supposedly writing, in Hunter S. Thompson's novel 'The Rum Diary'. The album's cover and inlay artwork bears resemblance to that of Finch's Say Hello to Sunshine (2005), as both were created by Californian illustrator Jeff Soto.

The Japanese version of the album, released on May 17, 2006 through In-n-Out Records, features a bonus track titled "Obsession". The song first appeared as "Because Pillows Are for Sleeping" in an interview with video podcasting group DMZ on December 10, 2005. In May and June 2006, the band went on tour with Bayside. In November and December, the band supported Hoobastank on their tour of the U.S., as well as headlining a number of off-dates. "Our Revolution" was released to radio on June 13, 2006.

Reception

The album had sold 34,795 copies as of October 2006, peaking at #130 on the Billboard 200 and at #1 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart.

Track listing

(all songs written by Halifax)

1. "Nightmare" – 3:52
2. "Our Revolution" – 3:08
3. "Under Fire" – 3:02
4. "Anthem for Tonight" – 3:44
5. "Hey Italy" – 3:14
6. "Snow in Hollywood" – 3:47
7. "Such a Terrible Trend" – 4:14
8. "Better Than Sex" – 3:48
9. "Giant in the Ring" – 3:51
10. "Promise Me Tragedy" – 3:15
11. "A Tint of Rain" – 4:04
12. "I Told You So" – 3:29
13. "Murder I Wrote" – 5:50
14. "Obsession" – 3:41 (Japanese bonus track)

B-Sides

1. "Box and Chains" – 3:50
2. "Disaster" – 4:02
3. "Nightingale" – 4:05

Credits