Welsh songwriter H. Hawkline has signalled his return, with new EP ‘Black Domino Box’ due for release on August 20th.
A minor cult hero in some quarters, H. Hawkline began cultivating his return last year. The sold out single ‘You Say You Love Me’ represented a solid first step, before sessions began on a new EP.
Produced by Gruff Rhys, new EP ‘Black Domino Box’ will be released on August 20th. ClashMusic received an exclusive preview earlier this month, when we posted a stream of the title cut.
Now available as a free download, you can grab it below.
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Need some more information? Here’s a quick statement from close friend and producer Gruff Rhys.
H.Hawkline is the beatiest thing to emerge from Lundy Island since the 2007 Norovirus outbreak.
The “Black Domino Box” EP finds Mr Hawkline in a state of flux. Whereas his previous albums “A Cup Of Salt” and “The Strange Uses Of Ox Gall” [released on Cardiff’s most vital label; Shape], were vinyl exercises in Sandy Bull powered finger picking and field recordings, with only a pinch of songwriting, Hawkline has undergone a Dylanesque electrical epiphany, becoming a jangling guitar hero of 1983 to 1996 vintage in the process, simultaneously fully embracing, for the first time, The Song.
This change is as dramatic as his move to the mainland, (when the island was quarantined) where, in Cardiff, Wales, Hawkline makes a living playing shows, presenting an experimental late night radio show, painting and decorating, purveying the graphic arts and providing voice overs for dubious after hours products.
He emerged as a member of Means Heinz, Cardiff’s very own ‘Crucial 3’ which also boasted Cate Le Bon and Sweet Baboo in the lineup, disbanding after 2 shows, the members, including drummer (and emerging artist in his own right), R Seiliog have all become prolific solo artists.
They all return here to back up their friend on this astonishing EP.
Lyrically, Hawkline channels his idol Richard Brautigan through a rough cement mixture of sludge rock, Felt and seaweed, listing his possessions in his rented room in what is a poignant appraisal of a dispossessed generation of multi-tasking, rarely paid young musicians.
Casey Raymond’s corresponding video depicts Hawkline digging his own grave; surely any songwriter would happily have this EP as their Epitaph.
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‘Black Domino Box’ is set to be released on August 20th.
Photo Credit: Kirsten McTernan