Search - I See Hawks in L.a. :: Grapevine

Motel California . . .

Ronald Scheer | Los Angeles | 11/09/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I got to see this band at California Plaza in downtown LA on a recent lunch hour, and they just blew me away. LA WEEKLY has picked them as the Best Alternative Country Band, and it's a joy to share the great pleasure they bring to playing their own compositions in the California country rock tradition. This CD captures much of that spirit and adds a good many studio touches to sweeten the mix.



The CD kicks off with an eco-conscious number, "Hope Against Hope," and establishes some of the dominant styles of the whole set: haunting steel guitar, strong vocals, literate and elusive lyrics, soulful harmonizing, and wonderful fiddle flourishes. It evokes escape from the city and images of the open road.



The rest of the CD segues from one style of country rock to another, with cameo influences you can trace to Talking Heads, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, The Eagles, The Byrds, Jimi Hendrix, and Grand Ole Opry. The lyrics of some songs are elliptical ("Humboldt"), while others tell stories that focus on an experience, a person, and a set of feelings ("Hitchhiker"). While one song is a slyly humorous hung-over love song ("Still Want You"); another verges on hysteria and paranoia ("Wonder Valley Fight Song"); and another reaches for Revelations-inspired weirdness and a kind of gleeful melancholy. "I Stayed Away," with its sorrowful lyrics and upbeat tempo is a great two-step dance song.



The title song, "Grapevine," comes last and celebrates the northbound exit from LA along I-5 over the Tehachapi Mountains to the San Joaquin Valley. It's a fitting ending to this great collection of songs that features place names from all over the country, references to open roads, 18-wheelers, and American cars. Fans will also enjoy Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen's "Way Out West.""