The band with the fabulous name. It is admitted that the name was the initial pull back in 2008. In those days before streaming there was an alternative 'try before you buy', but that aspect of the music industry known as file sharing has long been shut off. Anyhow the I See Hawks in LA album of that year HALLOWED GROUND did pass the test and moved into the realm of purchased music setting off a mission to track their career. Now forward wind a fair few years and they are still active in an epicentre of California and a hinterland stretching as far as Europe. In fact 2021 sees the release of their umpteenth album with ON OUR WAY being as typical of I See Hawks in LA as we have come to expect.
The new album is a record that both challenges and soothes. There are parts where you feel in the safe hands of a band churning out some good quality yet staple fare of folk 'n' country rock, or Americana if you want a catch all term. Alternatively, there are blurred ink spots of experimental material best illustrated in the 8-minute closer 'How You Gonna Know'. Elsewhere there is a psychedelic haze hovering over the track 'Kensington Market' that features Victoria Jacobs on vocals and brings into focus the band's relationship with London, England. A third smattering of unconventional content is the screeching fiddle that opens 'Know Just What to Do', maybe just keeping you on your toes in what is otherwise a rather placid track.
For more familiarity, look no further than the trio of opening song 'Might've Been Me' with a decent pedal steel segment; the jingly jangly sixties inspired title track 'On Our Way' blessed with a Golden State fragrance and the country feeling anchor of the second half 'If I Move'. If arm twisted, one of these three could be crowned the defining moment, but the beauty of a Hawks album is to savour its diversity.
Searching for the more interesting subject material leads you to the twin pairing of the Ali tribute 'Kentucky Jesus' and 'Geronimo' in the middle of the album, and a take on two of the nation's larger than life historical and cultural figures. Of the remaining three tracks making up this eleven strong collection, 'Mississippi Gas Station Blues' is a touch patchy, 'Stealing' gently rolls along in an unassuming manner and 'Radio Keeps Me on the Ground' settles in the neutral territory of okay without threatening the best of I See Hawks in LA.
The core quartet of Jacobs, Rob Waller, Paul Lacques and Paul Marshall is still intact and joined by numerous other contributors. All keep I See Hawks in LA a relevant band well over twenty years since formation and ON OUR WAY is an album you want to keep on your radar in the months after release as it contains so many good examples of how to execute a style favoured by those smitten with Americana music.
