Berlin-based Irish outfit HAVVK (formerly HAWK) are a formidable force of nature and self-evidently brilliant guitar band, and led by the charismatic Julie Hawk, they have a MASSIVE sound – this much is abundantly clear from the first few notes of new single ‘Always The Same’.
‘Always The Same’ is the first track lifted from HAVVK’s debut album – due out in the new year – and delivers an incredibly powerful and pulsating blast of vital, grunge-fueled indie-rock. Burning with frustration and fury, it thunders along hammering, bone-rattling percussion interspersed with sharp riffs, unrelenting guitar lines as Hawk’s stunning vocals enter the fray, rendering everything else secondary. The soaring power of Hawk’s vocal at its most intense charges to a cathartic climax that brings the house down around us. You can feel the frustration and the fury throughout – musically, lyrically and vocally – as the band expose female objectification by flipping it on its head, and in doing so deliver a fierce, uncompromising, pulsating and compelling tune.
You can listen to ‘Always The Same’ below and keep an eye out for the debut album come the new year.