Brother Hawk – Big Trouble Sessions
Released: 2019
Atlanta’s Brother Hawk re-appeared on my radar in 2019 year, putting out one of my favorite releases, Big Trouble Sessions. In a city that is overrun with screaming, grunting, and growling bands that play at 100mph, Brother Hawk rose to the top. They proved that there can still be a dark, brooding side to Atlanta yet express it with a strong sense of melody and unbridled passion.
Big Trouble sessions open with the melancholic fuzz driven “Like Water” that sounds and feels as thick as a muggy Georgia summer night. If I could put to music how it feels to have a fan-favorite sip of whiskey, lead vocalist/guitarist J.B. Brisendine’s vocals would be it to a “t.” Warm, comforting, and something that you can feel long after it’s gone.
A beautifully soulful take on the Alice in Chains’ classic “Nutshell” was a surprise that came out of nowhere. Like most huge fans of any band, I am always weary of covers. They are usually done note for note with very slight, if any, deviation. Brother Hawk managed to take this legendary, classic song and turned it into their own by infusing it with some southern fried guitar picking and spotlighting the keyboard work of Nick Johns-Cooper. This is something you must hear for yourself.
Rounding out the EP Brother Hawk offers up a much fatter, ballsy, live version of the fan-favorite “The Black Dog” and closes things out with a cover of Soundgarden’s “Fell on Black Days.” While I enjoyed it, I could have done without the Soundgarden cover because honestly, compared to their two fantastic originals and their fabulous take on “Nutshell,” it just fell just a tad flat for me.
I loved the re-invention of “The Black Dog” that it made me wish Brother Hawk would do all of their releases like this. Live is without a doubt the way one should hear Brother Hawk. It’s a bummer that they fell after my radar with their last album The Clear Lake but having them back in my line of sight served as one of, greatest musical moments in 2019. Now that I have them on my radar, I will not lose them again.
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