A Hawk and a Hacksaw: "The Way the Wind Blows"

Label: Leaf

We hate to keep harking back to Beirut, especially when we’re about to praise the wonderful new album by a Hawk and a Hacksaw, the band led by former Neutral Milk Hotel drummer Jeremy Barnes and Heather Trost, but there are two reasons for this. One, Jeremy and Heather are both part of Beirut, and had a profound influence on Gulag Orkestar. Two, many of you, enraptured by Gulag Orkestar, have asked for something, anything, that captures the spirit and sound of that glorious record. Well, here ya go. Back in April, Jeremy went to Hungary in a quixotic quest to find the famed gypsy brass band Fanfare Ciocarlia, hoping the two could record together. He tracked them down and the two groups ended up in a tiny Romanian village to make these recordings. The result is ”The Way the Wind Blows”, another joyous and romantic romp through traditional sounds, interspersing passionate musical duets with exuberant brass-band stomp. There’s more singing this time around, but otherwise this is vintage Hawk and a Hacksaw, another beautiful and fascinating record that gives the sounds of the Old World a fresh and exciting sheen.