Not knowing how much in the majority that I am, the passing of Gared O’Donnell’s previous band (Planes Mistaken For Stars for those that were unaware) was a sad occasion in my household as the burly riffing and impassioned performances by that band both live and on record were a huge hit in my household; so when Hawks & Doves debut record was announced and subsequently released, my interest was immediately piqued (considering that it was described to me as his solo project).
Hawks & Doves immediately struck me in the ways that I loved O’Donnell’s previous work being that the songs are bursting with obvious emotional depth and feeling, but where the two projects differ is that Year One seems more the sound of a heart broken lashing out at the world than the righteous fury of the Planes Mistaken For Stars discography, thus providing and even deeper emotional precipice (or depth, depending on your point of view) than ever before from Mr. O’Donnell. Take the slow plodding of “Another Hellfire Sermon” that while being ugly and soul crushing is still imbued with an awesome melodic hook that really drives the song home, and that melodicism is even more readily evident in “Hush Money” as the acoustic and electric guitars seamlessly blend together to deliver the worn and beaten quality of Gared’s vocal in a wonderful way that only some of the best country singers (think more Hank Williams or Johnny Cash (more so than the pop country garbage out there today, but I digress) while still not being country inflected in any way; O’Donnell’s vocal delivery has matured to such a point as to being distinctive and wholly his own.
One of the more impressive aspects of this debut from Hawks & Doves is the consistently powerful songwriting that leaves out any and all filler, leaving listeners with a beast of a dark and brooding album that just this time and again with excellent songs from the slow sadness of “Get Free” to the impassioned fire of “Hexing” and the brutal honesty of “Wish You Were Her(e)” (which possibly is blessed with my favorite lyrics to be found in a few years).
My single biggest gripe with Year One is that it is only nine songs, and my voracious musical appetite is barely whet by this initial offering from Hawks & Doves; but while maybe the editing was so stingy that O’Donnell and his compatriots (an all star cast of No Idea alumni and usual suspects) really only provided the absolute cream of the crop for us all, and maybe that is not such a bad quality after all. Regardless of your exposure to any of his previous music, Gared O’Donnell’s Hawks & Doves almost literally cries out to be heard; do not miss that call because it is you that will be missing out on one of the emotionally heaviest records that I have heard in a long time.
