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HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons hosts the most downloaded sports podcast of all time, with a rotating crew of celebrities, athletes, and media staples, as well as mainstays like Cousin Sal, Joe House, and a slew of other friends and family members who always happen to be suspiciously available.
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What happens when a band decides to record not just one album, but a complete 52-song deck of cards? Ryan Walsh of Hallelujah the Hills takes us deep into his most ambitious creative undertaking yet.
"DECK" represents what Walsh calls "revenge creativity" – a defiant response to the pandemic that halted their momentum following their acclaimed 2019 album "I'm You." Rather than producing a standard follow-up, Walsh finally brought to life an idea he'd contemplated for two decades: creating a complete musical deck of cards with four distinct "suits" (albums) each containing thirteen songs.
The concept is brilliantly executed – Diamonds features polished, radio-friendly tracks; Clubs delivers faster, punkier "bangers"; Hearts showcases emotionally vulnerable material; while Spades explores experimental territory. Beyond the musical organization, Walsh designed custom artwork for each song, available as an actual playable card deck that fans can purchase alongside the music.
Most fascinating is how the project reimagines listener engagement in the streaming era. Walsh encourages fans to "shuffle the deck" by randomly selecting 13 songs to create unique playlists that statistically no one else will ever duplicate. This transforms passive consumption into something participatory and personal, giving listeners agency in how they experience this massive body of work.
The album features notable collaborations including Cassie Berman (Silver Jews) and Jeremy Gaudet (Kiwi Jr), reflecting Walsh's collaborative songwriting approach. As Hallelujah the Hills celebrates its 20th anniversary in November 2025, "DECK" stands as both an artistic milestone and a defiant statement against disposable music culture: "You work on something for two years. It gets attention for 48 hours and then everyone's on the next thing... we made this in defiance of that idea."
Listen to "DECK" when it releases this June and catch Hallelujah the Hills on tour across the Northeast as they share this extraordinary musical achievement with the world.
Chapters
1. Meeting Ryan Walsh (00:00:00)
2. From The Stairs to Hallelujah the Hills (00:02:01)
3. Label Interest and Band Formation (00:05:41)
4. Songwriting Process and Collaboration (00:09:04)
5. The Making of "Deck": 52-Song Project (00:15:13)
6. Four Suits and Card Themes (00:21:49)
7. Looking Ahead: Tour and Anniversary (00:28:11)
8. "Fake Flowers at Sunset" Preview (00:34:13)
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