Special Features: 180 gram clear vinyl.
Tracklisting:
Side One
- Thunderfoot
- Flat Tire
- Edge of Destiny
- Her Addiction
- Living for Days
Side Two
- Zelda
- Nomad
- Bandito
- Faded
- Indian Summer
Release Date: 2015
Label: Cargo Records/Small Stone Records
Origin: Germany
Monster Magnet, Kyuss, Fu Manchu, 3 bands who immediately spring to mind when you’re thinking of stoner or desert rock. Synonymous with the scene for over 20 years, they been the catalyst for many bands seeking to emulate or copy their sound, sometimes producing music of quality and others time not. For that reason, I often feel a sense of apprehension when exposed to new bands in the genre, due in no small part to an over saturation in the market of poor quality music and perhaps for reasons that some bands are intent on trying to be the next Monster Magnet,Kyuss or Fu Manchu. Having never heard Freedom Hawk before, the usual feelings started to stir. Thankfully Freedom Hawk here, with their third official release ‘Holding On’, have produced an album of impeccable quality.
What you have, is what you expect from stoner/desert rock, bucket loads of riffs and that trademark fuzzy bass groove. Whilst listening to this record, I couldn’t help feeling that I was being transported back to 1970’s America; peace and love, warm summers, driving in your convertible and heading down to the beach. Think Cheech & Chong, and their ‘fiberweed’ van and you’ll get the general idea. Having been labelled "the East Coast's answer to Fu Manchu", you might expect a band to flounder perhaps sacrificing originality in favour of being a nostalgia act; however ‘Holding On’ is a headstrong, full throttle adrenaline ride, with a tank full of groovy riffs, blistering guitar solos and enough swagger to make their contemporaries green (no pun intended) with envy.
‘Holding On’ resonates with the influence of Dio era Black Sabbath, and also the solo career ofOzzy Osborne, specifically ‘Blizzard of Oz’. Indeed T.R. Morton’s voice has an uncanny resemblance to Ozzy, yet retains originality. More importantly, the exemplary vocals only serve to make this album such fantastic fun. The band sHEAVY also springs to mind when I listened to this record. Is it any wonder this record is awesome? Since their inception in 1995, Small Stone Records have an exemplary track record of producing bands and releasing music of superior quality and ‘Holding On’ continues that great tradition. "Thunderfoot, ‘Living for Days’, ’Edge of Destiny’ and ‘Her Addiction’ are fused with powerful chords, Iommi-esque guitar solos and an impressive use of ambience, creating the aesthetic of psychedelia and fuzziness, giving you that warm tripped out feeling and infecting your psyche to its core. The sporadic use of organ’s provide the album with a spaced out / out of body sensation, all of which sets them apart in their own right from the aforementioned Fu Manchu. I couldn’t help thinking on ‘Her Addiction’ that it had just a whiff of The Ramones influence on it, giving it that punchy attitude and up tempo ‘punk’ vibe.
Throughout the album T.R. Morton's Ozzy influenced vocals add supreme quality to the record and it infuses well with the bands fuzzed out sound and further cementing their ‘70s rock sound. Slower more experimental detours on the album such as "Zelda", which could be their ‘Planet Caravan’, add definition and texture to the album. Plan and simple, ‘Holding On’ is just downright impressive. During the 13 tracks on offer here, Freedom Hawk provides the listener with the sweetest grooves imaginable, yet offers something truly unique. The band has the uncanny knack of producing polished melodies with beefy riffs, giving substance and vigour to the album. Tracks like ‘Bandito’ are catchy as hell and take you on rollercoaster ride, leaving you disorientated and bewildered, by what has just happened.
Freedom Hawk has flair and flamboyance in their sound, most importantly the ability to write memorable tunes. This skill intertwined with an unyielding production from Vince Burke (Beaten Back to Pure) gives the album a classic sound of days gone by, when albums were recorded in 7 days and you were excited to open your gatefold vinyl for the first time. ‘Holding On’ is an album which adds further credibility and quality to the genre, and of classic albums we have grown up with. The album is a grower and the more you listen, the more you grasp the depth of influences which have inspired this band to write it. I can only hope that Freedom Hawk continue to produce albums of this quality, because if they do, ‘Holding On’ is the beginning of very bright future for them. This album is choc full of hooks, groove and muscular riffs and to top it off, excellent vocals. To quote Cheech Marin, ‘Holy sheep shit! It’s guitar Heaven! I can’t recommend this album highly enough. Go buy it! - Aaron Pickford (TheSludgelord.blogspot.com April 22, 2012)
http://thesludgelord.blogspot.com/2012/04/freedom-hawk-holding-on.html