Vampire Halloween Gives the Monsters Their Own Songs on Monsters and Me
Published
Halloween music gets more interesting when the monsters stop acting like monsters and start having ordinary problems. That is the idea running through Vampire Halloween’s Monsters and Me, a 12 song acoustic album written by Brice Salek and filled with creatures who are lonely, hungry, awkward, messy and occasionally terrible at being scary.
“Dracula’s Dentist” sends Dracula to a late night appointment with an aching fang and a dentist who has every reason to be nervous. “Vampire Matt” follows an undead romantic who cannot quite master the vampire business, while “Closet Blob” turns a missing sock, a strange smell and whatever is hiding behind the closet door into its own Halloween character.
Then there is “Monster Diner,” where the menu includes eyeball marinara and other questionable specialties, “Ghoul Drool,” which delivers exactly the gooey problem promised by its title, and “Zombie Dogs Never Sleep,” where the neighborhood pets have become something considerably harder to keep under control.
The album also makes room for a little nighttime atmosphere. “Blood Moon” opens with shadows, a lonely manor and a blood moon overhead, while “Dance for That Kiss” moves through fog, candles and vampire romance. Evil Missy appears twice, including “Evil Missy’s at the Gumball Machine,” where she guards the candy with her own particular zombie attitude.
What makes Monsters and Me work is that the songs are treated as songs first. Acoustic guitar, close vocals and uncluttered arrangements leave plenty of room for the characters, jokes and melodies. The Halloween setting gives the record its world, but the songwriting gives each creature something memorable to do once it gets there.
Monsters and Me is the kind of Halloween album you can put on for the season without feeling like you are listening to background effects. It has monsters, but more importantly, it has personalities and well written songs with the kind of memorable characters and melodies that could return every Halloween and become part of the season itself.
Monsters and Me was released August 14, 2026 by Vampire Halloween through Ringtone Records 26.
