Customer Reviews

Hallowed Ground

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First off - I'm biased. My wife and I are HUGE I See Hawks in L.A. fans and we try not to miss a live show around Southern California. But the truth of the matter is that the Hawks new effort "Hallowed Ground" is one of the best albums to come out in the last couple of years. Their "California Country" sound has improved for this self-produced record. The vocals and instrumentation (acoustic/Telecaster guitars, bass, & drums with guests on pedal steel guitar, Irish fiddle, & etc.) have a more open and airy (uncompressed) sound than the last two releases that works well in this context. The song writing by Rob Waller (lead vocal and guitar) and Paul Lacques (lead guitar and backup vocals) once again explores their experiences - life in Los Angeles and on the road, the relationship of humans to the natural world, the leaf, a trip to Ireland, and marriage/children. "Little bird outside our window - You said listen, he never sings the same - We listened for hours and hours - Little bird flew us away to - Our hallowed ground where our story began - Let's make breakfast with our hallowed pots and pans - The ridge has got a dusting of snow - Let's pack up the little one and go - Cause the little one has never seen the snow."

When they are booked, make it to Pappy & Harriet's PioneerTown in Yucca Valley, CA to see the Hawks live. Until then, get a copy of Hallowed Ground. In this case paradise is easy to find. "The bees imperious from their place in the divine - As ambitious noise from urban toys - Bothered paradise again"

I first heard Hallowed Ground on KCRW one weekday morning. Their mellow sound is perfect to listen to when driving in LA traffic!

This is the fifth album by the southern California outfit with the spacey name, and, like the four before it, they've served up a wonderful dish of cosmic California-style country rock - a sort of hybrid of Surf's Up/Holland-era Beach Boys crossed with Merl Haggard.
The band, after some line-up changes, is Rob Waller, lead vocals and acoustic guitar, Paul Lacques, guitars and harmony vocals, bassman (formerly with Rose Maddox and Hank Thompson) Paul Marshall, who sings harmony, too, and beat-keepeer Shawn Nourse (ex-Dwight Yoakam), and there's a stellar support cast for the album, including fiddlers Gabe Witcher and Dave Markowits, and Dave Zirbel on pedal steel.
These are all well-seasoned players and the sound is tight as. There is exquisite three-part harmony and plenty of twanng. Song lyrics are well spun and content ranges from humour to sadness and includes subjects as diverse as conservation, the environment and politics, war and peace, and life and love. These boys sit comfortably somewhere between the Flying Burrito Brothers and New Riders of the Purple Sage.