There is no telling what you will hear coming out of the worlds greatest city. There is just so much, it can be incredibly overwhelming.
I had been anxiously awaiting this EP, not because I had ever heard of the band, but it was rapidly approaching deadline time, yet I had received nothing to review. Then, alas, in the mail today was the uninspiring brown envelope with the music I had been sitting on pins and needles, earnestly awaiting.
I knew time was of an essence so I ran to my laptop, and inserted the CD. I was, immediately and utterly blown away by what was coming through my headphones and penetrating the right side of my brain.
I review a lot of music and currently I am completely buried in a mountain of CD’s and digital downloads, which I need to listen too and decide on the ones I will review. Hawk and Dove is as good as anything I have buried in that mountain of music. They are as good and in some cases, even better than just about anything in that pile, and believe me, there are some great artists there.
One thing I watch for or more appropriately in this case, listen for in a new band, is what is different about the performance. What makes them stand out? With Hawk and Dove, I can think of several things. Their compositions for one thing, there are only four tunes here, but they are a very potent four.
The melodies are sonically powerful and the individual performances are even stronger, but the one thing that truly defines Hawk and Dove would have to be Elijah Miller’s vocals. He possesses a raspy voice that reminded me of Tom Waits played at a slightly higher RPM than 33 1/3. He also wrote the strange and wonderful lyrics to these four tracks.
Rachel Lyons beautifully plays the violin and on the song “Stain”, she aids in creating a haunting atmosphere to the tune. I listened to it early this morning and the sound of it has been following me around, echoing in my head all day long. The lyrics are wonderful and are a bit on the strange side –
We’ve been boiling frogs,
Just to see if it’s true.
And we watched to make sure
That there like me and you
They just sit there and don’t
Seem to mind what we do.
Strange indeed, to say the least, but it adds to the uniqueness of this wonderful new band.
The guitar played by John Kleber is slightly distorted and lies in the background. His instrument is meant to inspire and compliment Miller’s vocals and he succeeds here. Ms. Lyon’s expertise on the violin, and Mr. Kleber’s guitar, besides being quite good, also understands where he is supposed to reside within each composition; everything collides to make this a wonderful listening experience.
The rhythm section is comprised of Stephanie Sanders on bass and session musician Dave Butler on drums. They expertly pave the way for the rest of the band, binding everything together in a tightly cohesive comportment.
I look forward to hearing and seeing more from Hawk and Dove in the future. Hearing music like this forces me into a dilemma; do I stay here, deep in the heart of Texas, or do I pack up all of my belongings and my family and get our posteriors up to NYC where it seems everything is happening.
Reviewed By Rod Ames
