The Howling Hex - XICODE
http://www.sendspace.com/file/lkdorl
Drag City press release:
QUOTE
Off in the distance, the sounds of cities and towns groan,
rumble and heave. It might be bustling industry or some
strange storm that stuck around so long that inhabitants
forgot it was ever supposed to leave. In some places, it is
rumored that sirens are forgotten altogether. Can you
imagine? OMG! With this in mind, The Howling Hex
congregated. A tour had been booked and there was work
to do.
Working collaboratively with each other, the band
descended upon each city in turn. Nightly, they gathered
with the citizens and took note. Wherever The Howling Hex
went, they heard the sirens — howling, screaming, soothing.
They put them in the grooves of their new songs. Writing
songs on the road and playing them, night after night, led
them and us to this moment-defining statement: XI.
After all, Odysseus tied himself to a mast for a reason.
A piece of every city can be heard on XI. In fact, spin XI on and you will find as well several
states of mind and sound in the funky-swift, breviloquent songs. Think of The Minutemen
playing Blue Oyster Cult’s “Godzilla” backwards (and underwater) to the post apocalyptic
denizens of Hendrix’s “1983” — but think fast because another song is coming and there’s a
riot going on. Guitar leads conversing with fat bass leads in front and behind you as
saxophones wail before stripped down drums, the frenetic beating of the conga and other
percussive instruments. This unnamable thing we know as rock is matched on XI with
sharp-eyed lyricism and a multiplicity of vocal approaches.
Every member of the five piece band contributes to songwriting and singing. The result is not
just rock ‘n’ roll, but also the very portrait of a grim dystopia, sculpted appropriate to the
landscape. You’ve never experienced today before today — and you haven’t heard XI before,
either.
The album is full of worlds on fire, antlers, ambulances and slaughter. The Howling Hex bends
and unblends genres, tapping into the mythical archetype of an emptied urban landscape:
some skulls rolling down a steep city street. But, wait a minute. These are thinking skulls,
brains intact.
Who is to say it can’t all happen all at once? The Howling Hex dares to differ on XI.
A blogger says:
QUOTE
Neil Michael Hagerty is more known as a former member of Royal Trux as well as his work behind the boards for other bands and artists (most recently Bill Callahan's Woke on a Whaleheart. The Howling Hex continues to find Hagerty more than willing to hang in the background while others grab the spotlight.
As for XI, the album itself unfolds like the last albums of Royal Trux and previous Howling Hex efforts. The music glides effortlessly between sludged pop and crackling rock. The intermingling pop and rock produces some of the catchiest bar room dancetracks this side of the chickenwire facade. While much of the grit of Hagerty's baritone guitar and bass is lost in swamp rock, there's nothing wrong with letting your hair down and just making music for others to have a good time to.
Release Date: Sometime soon
Early Highlights: "Dr. Slaughter," "Lines in the Sky," "Martyr Lectures Comedian"
Sounds like: Credence Clearwater Revival, Vietnam, (A much, much better) Kings of Leon
...to which I'll add "like the Magic Band and Curt Kirkwood covering Big Star's first album". This is a top... four lp the year album for me, and I think others will like it a bunch too. Fans will dig it, and even if you've found some of Hagerty's recent work a bit punishing and obtuse, this is a new phase. If you've never listened to Neil Hagerty, the Howling Hex, or Royal Trux, this is a mighty fine starting point - a really good, toe-tapping rocking record.
