Staff Reviews

A Hawk And A Hacksaw - Cervantine

Review by Chris Nicholls

Cervantine feels like a long, joyous exhalation after years spent travelling, listening and devouring “trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows”.»

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following a series of albums exploring eastern european folk music influence that have thrilled indie and world audiences alike, albuquerque, new mexico's a hawk and a hacksaw present 'cervantine', their first release on their own new label, lm dupli-cation, a record that gloriously connects their deep fascination with the folk and gypsy groups of former yugoslavia, greece and romania with their actual home in the desert plains of the american southwest. the group's natural blend of diverse global musical styles with their indie rock background lends them the kind of cross-audience appeal enjoyed by bands including fools gold, beirut and calexico, while their strong sense of musicality and cultural context draws more left-field listeners to them as well. recorded live at their studio in albuquerque between two us tours, 'cervantine' is the vibrant sound of an american band whose geographical and cultural travels bear on their already distinctive music. the 20th century brought the influence of spanish and mexican music to eastern european gypsy folk, and cervantine celebrates the reflected resonance of this influence in modern-day new mexico. alongside the core duo of jeremy barnes and heather trost, the album features key contributions from the immensely talented hladowski siblings - stephanie (vocals) and her brother chris (bouzouki) - from bradford, england, via poland, who can be heard on album standouts 'mana thelo enan andra,' 'cervantine' and the turkish classic 'uskudar.' the original composition 'espanola kolo' probably best represents the spanish / mexican impression on serbian brass music that a hawk and a hacksaw have embraced - an homage to the extraordinary new mexico town of espanola and a yugoslav kolo dance, designed for long nights of drinking and dancing.
description from www.roughtrade.com