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“Their songs breathe with the undeniable feeling of a never-ending summer⊠“California Bound” delivers on multiple levels.” – Paste Magazine
“[They] have a great laid-back, dusky twang thing happening on their first offering, ‘Long Ride Home.'” – Best New Bands
Reinventions are rarely what they seem. More often than not, they are evolutions rather than rebirths; carefully cultivated identities that are achingly revealed rather than instantaneous metamorphoses. The former is most often the product of commercial pursuits, while the latter is nothing short of a precious miracle, akin to the slow, reactive unfolding of a day lily. Dameon Lee (nĂ©e, Waggoner) might be better known for exploits as bassist for Southwestern punk luminaries Scared of Chaka than he is for the tender, country tinged songs he scattered across three albums as Lowlights, but, as Lee stressed following the first Lowlights release in 2003, this is a “side” of himself that always wasâit just needed time to simmer before it could shimmer.
[wpex click for full bio]And shimmer it did, generating its own slow-burning heat that culminated in tours and showcases that, often enough, saw Lowlights sharing stages with Ian Moore, whose own evolution from blues guitar wunderkind to Americana devotee has been documented over a decade and a half of under-appreciated recordings. The eventual pairing started innocently enough: Moore inviting Lee to cut some tracks at his Vashon Island studio. But the spark of collaboration was almost instantly ignitedâprobably smoldering long before Lee or Moore even realized itâand out came the guitars.Former Scared of Chaka cohort and recent Shins alum Dave Hernandez was recruited to handle lead guitar duties, bringing with him bassist Drew Church (Little Cuts) and drummer Steven Barci to form the band whose debut you’re listening to now … presenting: The Jemez Mountain Hawkz (“J” pronounced as “H” for those not versed in Native pronunciation). Jemez is derived from a Tanoan Indian word, but doesnât translate into the English. The natives there, however, call their pueblo Walatowa, which loosely means âthe place,â replete with mystical undertones. All the mystery and sheer natural beauty of the place inform the Hawkzâ songsâpenned chiefly by Lee, who knows the Jemez region quite well having grown up less than eighty miles away near Los Alamos, NM. The wide open spaces evoked in âThe Long Ride Home,â the high lonesome guitar figure and Leeâs perfectly matched longing vocal that frame âCA-2,â the galloping, getting-away-from-you-as-fast-as-I-can feel of âCalifornia Bound,â the hindsight heartache of âSummerâs Gone,â and the just-out-of-reach stark beauty of âSnow is Silverâ are all infused with a certain Southwestern-flavored take on Americana thatâs as unique as the environs themselves.
But itâs not just dirt-devils and tumbleweeds and ancient native culture having its way with the songs on the Hawkzâ debut EP. Lee has a knack for needling out the classic sounds of Laurel Canyon country rock circa â60s and â70s (Byrds, Neil Young, Gram Parsons) and weaving them into a musical tapestry fringed with bright â60s SoCal pop harmonies straight out of the Brian Wilson songbook, and laced with darker melodic hues that recall the vaunted, haunted jangle of the Mill Avenue Sound of the â90s (Sidewinders, Dead Hot Workshop, Gas Giants). As songwriting templates go, Leeâs latest discovery is about and rich and rewarding as they come. And it pays off in spades across the five songs that make up the Hawkzâ eponymous EP.
Spacious and elegant, the Hawkz manage to combine the intangibles that turned the Summer of Love into an timeless sonic imprint that echoes in the hearts and minds of anyone whoâs ever turned left their cares behind in favor of an FM car radio and an unknown Western destination. Thereâs a freedom in the Hawkzâ songs that may be unique to the California experience and the wide open expanses of desert that give New Mexico ninety percent of its identity, but itâs a sense of freedom that beckons whether the listener happens to be tuning in from the hustle and bustle of a megalopolis like New York or Chicago, or a Midwestern staple city like Toledo or Indianapolis.
The harmonic convergence happened upon by Lee and Co. one recent winterâs day off the northwest shores of Washington State are aptly captured here for your listening pleasure. And, with any luck, a van full of these California dreamers might just pull into your town soon. Itâll be a magical moment you wonât want to miss.[/wpex]
SPIN Premieres First Video For “CA-2” From Los Angeles / Seattle / Albuquerque Supergroup
Paste Magazine Premieres Second Single From Hey-Mez EP
Debut Project From LA/Seattle-based Collective Is Released Today
Nostalgia-Inducing New Single Premieres On Sirens Of Decay Today
Jemez Mountain Hawkz Perform on LA’s KCET TV
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