Mixin' with Ladyhawk

Ladyhawk is a band from Vancouver, British Columbia. They make rock records that are loud and slightly disheveled and carry a specific quality of rawness that is not punk rawness. It is the rawness of a country record that has been turned up past where it was comfortable.

The Neil Young comparison is obvious and has been made often. The Harvest and Crazy Horse period Young is the reference most reviewers reach for. It is correct but not complete. There is also something in Ladyhawk's approach that comes from the bar band tradition, from rock music played for rooms rather than for record collections.

The records

The self-titled debut, released in 2006, is the most focused statement. The production is appropriately rough. The songs are structured like classic rock songs but played as if the structure were something to push against. The vocals sit in the mix the way country vocals used to sit in mixes before the production process cleaned everything up.

Shots followed in 2008 with more ambition and a wider palette. The second record is less tight than the first but more interesting in places.

The Mixin' With format

The Mixin' With series at this site is a short editorial note on a specific artist, typically contemporary, with context about why they are worth listening to and what tradition or lineage they belong to. It is not a review. It is an introduction.

Ladyhawk is worth the introduction. If you have been listening to the Neil Young back catalog and want something that carries the same spirit in a contemporary recording, this is one of the better places to find it.

The full Mixtapes index: Mixtapes. For the Neil Young Goes Twang essay: Neil Young Goes Twang.