POSTS TAGGED : H Hawkline

H. Hawkline Shares new track ‘Last Thing On Your Mind’

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Welsh artist H. Hawkline is currently working on the followup to 2015’s wondrous In The Pink Of Condition.

No concrete details on the album have been announced but we’re afforded an early taste of what we can expect with new single, ‘The Last Thing On Your Mind’. Featuring frequent collaborators Cate Le Bon and Josiah Steinbrick and powered by synths and a minimal drum machine, the single explores new territory. It does so while retaining the classic Hawkline approach for earworm hooks intertwined with gently groovy sounds, charming oddity and fused with experimental whims into mildly psychedelic, wonky pop song. A marvellously tantalising six-minutes.

As was said previously, there’s no solid info on when we can expect the new record but after all, any new H. Hawkline is good news. Be sure to be on the look out for the full length later this year.

Listen to ‘The Last Thing On Your Mind’ below.

BarryGruff Playlist September 2015

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A now regular monthly feature, whereby we round up all the blog action with a nice, neat and handy playlist of tracks featured during the month.

September was pretty damn good, aside from saying goodbye to summer! We had tunes from Sexwitch, Gwenno, Hinds and The Altered Hours ahead of their respective, new and forthcoming albums. There were excellent new singles from Slow Riot, Tuff Love, BUCK, H. Hawkline, Freedom Fry, Gulp & Miaoux Miaoux. Oh, and their was the launch of ‘Millions Like Us’, Justin Beats & I’s new music podcast extravaganza for 604now (if you missed them? Why not listen to episodes #1 & #2)

Also featured on this month’s playlist are great tracks from Avid Walker, Mesa Luna, Ghost Culture, Boxed In, Anderson & Peaness. So yeah, pretty good alright.

Listen to BarryGruff’s September 2015 playlist below.

H. Hawkline – ‘It’s A Drag’

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H. Hawkline‘s ‘It’s A Drag’ first appeared on a very limited Record Store Day 7-inch earlier this year, thankfully it’s making another appearance, on Heavenly 25, a forthcoming compilation celebrating Heavenly Records’ recent anniversary.

‘It’s A Drag’ will also be released as a single on 21st September, which follows his superb LP In The Pink Of Condition, earlier this year. H. Hawkline has been sharing his odd ball pop gems since back in 2010 and ‘It’s A Drag’ is no different. Characteristically strange pop, with a slightly odd, rough diamond aesthetic, it is utterly charming with a beautifully laid-back vibe to the track. In short, is a rather beautiful number and one that is wholly irresistible, due in no small way to his unquestionable ear for a melody. Ludicrously talented and a plentiful source of great tunes, H. Hawkline seems to be making a long overdue breakthrough.

‘It’s A Drag’ is out on 21st September, check it below. H. Hawkline’s marvelous latest album of mildly psychedelic, odd-wonky pop songs, In The Pink Of Condition, is out now too and well worth some of your time – listen to it here.

BarryGruff’s Albums of 2015 So Far……

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I’m not exactly the best at keeping you and the site up-to-date with album reviews, to be honest, it’s the old enemy time. Discovering the hours to scribble some thoughts about this album or that has become rather elusive, but thankfully finding time to listen to albums, and music in general, is less of an issue.

Here are a list of my most listened and loved records of 2015 so far with Spotify links and playlists for overall albums of 2015. There are plenty of playlists on Spotify and Soundcloud and on the blog too. Oh, and with regards to albums *cough, cough*, you can still download GruffWuff, a 19 track compilation celebrating 5 years of BarryGruff, for FREE from bandcamp, *cough, cough*.

Top 24 albums of 2015 so far…

01. Czarface – ‘Every Hero Needs A Villain’

02. H. Hawkline – ‘In The Pink Of Condition’

03. Villagers – ‘Darling Arithmetic

04. Blur – ‘The Magic Whip’

05. Ghost Culture – ‘Ghost Culture’

06. Boxed In – ‘Boxed In’

07. Django Django – ‘Born Under Saturn’

08. Girlpool – ‘Before The World Was Big’

09. Stealing Sheep – ‘Not Real’

10. The Charlatans – ‘Modern Nature’

11. Courtney Barnett – ‘Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit’

12. Gaz Coombes – ‘Matador’

13. Hot Chip – ‘Why Make Sense?’

14. Applescal – ‘For’

15. Public Service Broadcasting – ‘The Race For Space’

16. Jamie xx – ‘In Colour’

17. Sen Segur – ‘Films’

18. Zefur Wolves – ‘Zefur Wolves’

19. Faith Healer – ‘Cosmic Troubles’

20. Mowbird – ‘One-Offs’

21. Joanna Gruesome – ‘Peanut Butter’

22. Fort Romeau – ‘Insides’

23. Rozi Plain – ‘Friend’

24. Pale Honey – ‘Pale Honey’

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Sweet Baboo – ‘Black Domino Box’ (H. Hawkline Cover)

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North Wales’ Stephen Black, AKA Sweet Baboo is gearing up to release his new record, The Boombox Ballads, the follow up to 2013’s marvellous LP Ships.

The new record is out on August 14th through Moshi Moshi, with a special launch show for The Boombox Ballads happening at London Fields Brewery (London) on May 21st. Joining Sweet Baboo on the night is fellow countryman and exceptional talent, H. Hawkline. To mark the occasion, Sweet Baboo has covered H. Hawkline’s classic ‘Black Domino Box’. Retaining the upbeat and bright nature of the original, he leaves a compelling mark in his own unique whimsical way – an utterly beautiful, sweet and charming rendition of truly fabulous song. The cover version will be available on a strictly limited cassette single version of the new single, ‘Sometimes’ and only available at London Fields Brewery show.

The cassette single is limited to 50 copies and available on a first come first served basis, but you can check both tracks below. Oh, you can download Sweet Baboo’s cover of ‘Black Domino Box’ from here too, ssshhh!

H. Hawkline – ‘Moons In My Mirror’

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Some extremely good news this, come the new year and we shall have a brand new album from H. Hawkline with us. Entitled, In The Pink Of Condition, it will be released on February 2 2015 via Heavenly Records.

A first album since 2011`s The Strange Uses Of Ox Gall, he plugged this intervening gap with two impressively brilliant EPs; Black Domino Box (2012) & Ghouls (2013). There is something utterly enchanting, unique and unusual to H. Hawkline. Much of the allure lies in the slightly rough diamond aesthetic and charming oddity, fused with experimental whims, and a remarkable ability for a great melody and obviously, a phenomenal tune. Produced by Cate Le Bon in LA, the first taste from the forthcoming album is ‘Moons In My Mirror’; a three-minute cut of strange playful pop that is characteristically charming, melodious, slightly odd and exceedingly pleasing on the ear. Catchy as hell with some phenomenal lyrical prowess, it is in keeping with his previous wondrous output and as such, promises much for the LP.

In The Pink Of Condition is out on February 2 2015 via Heavenly Records and preceded by lead single ‘Moons In My Mirror’, released as a download and limited 7″ on January 23rd. Check it below now.

H. Hawkline – ‘Salt Gall Box Ghouls’

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If H. Hawkline isn’t a name familiar to you, then you shouldn’t waste a moment more before acquainting yourself with this enigmatic and supremely brilliant artist.

Taking his place in a lineage of great talent that seems rather particular to Wales, his music sits nicely alongside the likes of Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, Super Furry Animals, Sweet Baboo and Cate Le Bon, to name but a few. There is something utterly enchanting, unique and unusual to his exceptional brand of psych folk (which encompassed forays into garage rock from time to time too). The allure lies in it’s slightly rough diamond aesthetic and charming oddity fused with experimental whims, and a remarkable ability for a great melody and obviously, a phenomenal tune. Having just signed to Heavenly Records, H. Hawkline has released Salt Gall Box Ghouls, a free album that serves as a ‘best of’ compilation from his output to date.

Structured chronologically to include tracks from previous albums and EPs on Shape Records, Thrash Aesthetics and Turnstile Records, it offers the perfect introduction to H. Hawkline or for those already aware of his genius, a neat, trim compilation of some of his finest work. There’s so much brilliance on show that it’s a rather onerous task to pick out particular tracks for singular praise. Personal high points would be the delightfully melodious guitar led, laid back and sunny ‘Ghouls’, the the 7-minute melodious folk rumble of ‘Black Muck’ that exhibits his penchant for veering off into a slightly warped, oddball territory. And last but not least, the complete and utter brilliance of ‘Kiss Me On The Lips’. The intro will have you bounding around the room as it hurtles along at breakneck speed, vocals charging at you, before morphing into a haunting folk ballad that will have you in complete wonderment. In short: This is a sublime introduction to a supremely unique talent.

Salt Gall Box Ghouls is out now & available to download FREE from here. You know it makes sense.

 

 

 

H. Hawkline – ‘Llenwi’

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Welsh psych folky H. Hawkline has returned with his first new recordings since last year’s weird and wonderful EP, Black Domino Box. ‘Llenwi’ is one of two tracks he has contributed to Recordiau Lliwgar’s (Welsh for Colourful Records) double 10″ compilation, Y Record las, out on April 1st.

‘Llenwi’ channels his experimental whims through a rough of sludge of meandering folk and indie, with his decision to sing in his native Welsh, adding a level of distinction and unusuality to the track. It does mean however, whatever he is singing about remains a mystery (to me at least) – not a problem though, it is both unusual and brilliant. Here’s hoping for much more from H. Hawkline in the not so distant future. 

You can listen to ‘Llenwi’ below and if it floats your boat, you can stream some other tracks from the Y Record las compilation here. 

Welsh Wizards | Mixtape

This is a quite odd post even by my standards. This day ten years ago I upped sticks and moved to Wales, Wrexham to be precise, which explains all the Wrexham related tweets for anyone who follows me on Twitter.

Although I’m back in Ireland a few years now, it was one of my smarter moves & I retain a fondness for Wales as a country and the music it produces (although I don’t get over half as much as I’d like these days). Welsh music features quite prominently on the blog, something regular visitors are probably aware of. Apart from anything else it got me thinking and I decided to knock together a mixtape/compilation of some Welsh favourites from the past few years, with one or two older tracks thrown in for good measure.

So, without further waffling, here it is, some mighty fine weekend listening. Diolch. Mwynhewch.

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H. Hawkline – ‘Black Muck’

Welsh folk eccentric H. Hawkline released his brand new EP, Black Domino Box, this week and has unveiled another choice cut from the EP, ‘Black Muck’.

There is something really special about H. Hawkline’s rough ‘n’ ready fusion of experimental whims and gentle, somewhat surreal lyrics, of which his new EP exhibits with style. In keeping with ‘Black Domino Box’, ‘Black Muck’ seems on the surface to be upbeat and bright, but do not let that fool you. On closer inspection it is a 7-minutes folk rumble, jolty, abrasive and with a dark lyrical core, allowing his penchant for veering off into a slightly warped, oddball territory to unfold.

Check ‘Black Muck’ and lead track ‘Black Domino Box’ below and you will get the picture.