I See Hawks in L.A.soared relatively trouble free for the first decade of their existence, but in 2018 they’re emerging from a string of confrontations with mortality, life choices, and the slow leakage of youthful possibility. It’s been almost 17 years since the release of their eponymous debut — on September 11, 2001. They didn’t get rich, they didn’t get famous, and yet they’re still here, perhaps benefitting artistically from the rocky passage. The rich flavor of battered soul. It’s clear these Hawks are in it for the music, for each other, and for the adventure of it all.
Due out June 29, Live and Never Learn is the first new Hawks album since 2013’s Mystery Drug. It’s been five hard years. In March of 2015, member Rob Wallerlost his mother suddenly to pancreatic cancer, and Paul Lacques lost both his parents this past year. Most of the songs on Live and Never Learn were written and recorded while they were dealing with these primal griefs, as well as other personal battles dire but with better outcomes. From the Hawks to those who have lost parents: “Now we understand.”
This spring, good news has returned for the Hawks and their families. The band finished tracking and sent the files off to four-time Grammy-winning mixer Alfonso Rodenas (Los Tigres del Norte), who mixed Mystery Drug as well as several other Lacques-produced projects. The mixes came back sounding great, and the Hawks felt a surge of optimism, perhaps irrational, perhaps a crucial tonic to these gloomy times. Now Live and Never Learn is here and the Hawks sound better than ever. With shows in California and the U.K. coming up this summer they’re feeling good and can’t wait to hit the stage and sing, together again, together as always.
With the album release around the corner, Glide is excited to present an early taste with an exclusive premiere of “White Cross”. The song was co-written via email with Peter Davies of the U.K.’s Good Intentions and features the Hawks’ signature electric sounds of reverb-y Telecaster, thumping Fender bass, and tight harmonies, while the lyrics take listeners from the backstreets of Memphis to the windswept moors of Northern Ireland. Their is a laid back, soulful groove to the song that seems to have a more positive tone than some of the gloomier material on the album. Mostly though, it’s clear even after all this time that the band’s chemistry hasn’t aged as much as its members still share a penchant for writing poignant lyrical tales that weave in country, soul and blues.
Paul Lacques of I See Hawks in L.A. shares his own meditation on the song:
Slow burning southern tremelo rocker, tales of Memphis back rooms, lost souls giving comfort, amphetamines and Jesus, or are they talking about a different kind of cross? Co-written with the Good Intentions’ Peter Davies of Liverpool, this groove works perfectly for the “electric slide.” Line dancer alert! ”
LISTEN:
Live and Never Learn is available now to fans through a Kickstarter campaign and will be released in stores and all digital outlets on June 29.
