Tomahawk have fantastically fused Native American songs with rock on their new album, Anonymous, which has garnered much attention in the ALARM office.
Tomahawk
Anonymous (Ipecac)
Release: June 19, 2007
(This review, which can be read here in its entirety, appears in ALARM’s summer issue.)
The third album from super-group Tomahawk is a strikingly novel collection of unaccredited Native American songs given a sonic makeover. The material is more rhythmically complex than much of the band’s back catalog, and though the theme affords drummer John Stanier fewer opportunities for incorporating massive beats, the end result is a firm balance between homage and innovation. Anonymous proves itself to be accessible to fans of Native American music as well as those into rock experimentalism.
Tomahawk: Anonymous
Hackensaw Boys
Look Out…! (Nettwerk)
Release: June 19, 2007
The newest full-length disc from six-member Americana ensemble Hackensaw Boys spits out some mean bluegrass. Steam rollin’ opener “Look Out, Dog! Slow Down, Train!” properly whets listeners’ appetites for more foot-stomping good times, a desire that is most satisfied via the fiddling and wailing of “Radio.” Look Out‘s second song, “Oh, Girl,” presents a highly harmonized tale of avoidance.
Hackensaw Boys: Various Tracks
Two Gallants
The Scenery of Farewell EP (Saddle Creek)
Release: June 19, 2007
This electric alt-country twosome tones it down for The Scenery of Farewell, an acoustic EP that paves the way for a third full-length album that is set for release in September. Though it’s not as energetic as much Two Gallants material, fans should be satisfied by anthemic opener “Seems Like Home to Me” and harmonica-heavy tune “Up the Country.”
The Polyphonic Spree
The Fragile Army (TVT)
Release: June 19, 2007
The twenty-some members of The Polyphonic Spree literally pick up where they left off on Together We’re Heavy by starting their new album with the tune of the same name that ended the 2004 album. The group makes sure not to saturate its material with too many layers – a task that seems daunting given the sheer volume of voices and instrumentation employed – and presents listeners with a hearty dose of catchy, uplifting melodies. “Running Away,” the second track on The Fragile Army, even tosses a slick guitar riff our way while horns get heavy in the background.