"Hawk Is Listenin'" Vinyl by AJ Woods
Perpetual Doom is proud to present Hawk is Listenin’—the new record from New Mexico singer-songwriter AJ Woods. A surreal journey through the myth and history of the Albuquerque, the Southwest, and the republic at large, Hawk is Listenin’ expands Woods’ poetic songwriting into powerful new landscapes. He brings together a remarkable ensemble of musicians, including members of Hawk and a Hacksaw, The Sir Douglas Quintent, Neutral Milk Hotel, the Heather Trost Band, and more, to deliver a remarkable statement on friendship, mourning, resistance, and the relentless flow of time.
“Albuquerque is a place paved over,” writes Woods of his hometown. “It is run through with the history of people and the wilderness together: ancestral, colonial, familial, personal.” No where are these multifaced dimensions of meaning more present than on the nearly seven-minute title track, where Woods enumerates a dreamlike catalog of images drawn from the human and natural worlds over a delicate arrangement repeatedly punctuated by a fiercely distorted guitar. As the song builds to a crescendo around the repeated phrase of the title, we discover a thread that runs through the record: not only must we pay attention to our vibrant, living world, but that world is also paying attention to us. It’s an idea that undergirds the mournful wail of “Wind on a Wildfire” and the desert dirge of “Coyote”—two songs that nod to nature as an enduring witness to human frailty.
Southwest music legend Jimmy Stallings joins Woods on a cover of his own “Gallup, NM,” harrowing yet lively account of his father’s mysterious death. Woods finds wider resonance in this strikingly personal account, something he attributes to his close relationship with Stallings: “Our friendship has a strong connection in both of our having lost a parent when we were kids. Jimmy deals with a hard topic in such a raw way…getting relief from something so heavy.” The same could be said of Hawk is Listenin’ as a whole, where Woods’ gift for lush compositions—made possible by a wide circle of loving collaborators—help us look closer at the harsh realities around us. There are the howls and rattles on the epic stunner “Gila,” which follows the twisting course of the river into the desert, the droning guitar and harsh cymbals of “Knife’s Edge,” where backyard chanting turns into a fuzzed out romp.
Recorded and produced by Jeremy Barnes at Sonido del Norte in Albuquerque, each of these tracks testifies to the universal power of local traditions, close-knit communities, and the remarkable urge to transform suffering into art. Speaking of New Mexico, Woods says, “As much as I love this place, it’s a sharp place…There’s a lot of suffering here. It can be hard to pay close attention.”
True as that may be, Hawk is Listenin’ makes it a little easier.
More about AJ Woods: Click Here.
Perpetual Doom Selects: 12" Limited Edition Classic 140g Black Vinyl LP of “Hawk Is Listenin'”.
Edition of 50.
Tracklist:
1. Hawk Is Listenin'
2. Wind on a Wildfire
3. Gallup, New Mexico
4. Coyote Song
5. Gila
6. Middle Fork
7. Knife's Edge
8. South 285
Release Date: September 20, 2024
released by:
Perpetual Doom Selects
release/catalogue number:
PDS001